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POWERS  AND  ORGANS  OF  THE  MIND, 


MARKED  ON  THE  FRONTISPIECE. 


AFFECTIVE. 

I.  — Propensities. 

t  Desire  to  live. 
*  Alimentiveness. 
o.  1.  Destructiveness. 

2.  Amativeness. 

3.  Philoprogenitiveness. 

4.  Adhesiveness. 

5.  Inhabitiveness. 

6.  Combativeness. 

7.  Secretiveness. 

8.  Acquisitiveness. 

9.  Constructiveness. 

II.  — Sentiments. 

10.  Cautiousness. 

11.  Approbativeness. 

12.  Self-esteem. 

13.  Benevolence. 

14.  Reverence. 

15.  Firmness. 

16.  Conscientiousness. 

17.  Hope. 


18.  Marvellousness. 

19.  Ideality. 

20.  Mirthfulness. 

21.  Imitation. 

INTELLECTUAL. 

I.  — Perceptive. 

No.  22.  Individuality. 

23.  Configuration. 

24.  Size. 

25.  Weight  and  Resistance. 

26.  Coloring. 

27.  Locality. 

28.  Order. 

29.  Calculation. 

30.  Eventuality, 

31.  Time. 

32.  Tune. 

33.  Language. 

II.  — Reflective. 

34.  Comparison. 

35.  Causality. 


146700 


PHRENOLOGY 

OR  THE 

DOCTRINE  OF  THE  MENTAL  PHENOMENA 


BY 

J.  G.  SPURZHEIM,  M.D. 

OF  THE  UNIVERSITIES  OF  VIENNA  AND  PARIS,  AND  LICENTIATE  OF  THE 
ROYAL  COLLEGE  OF  PHYSICIANS  OF  LONDON 


WITH  AN  INTRODUCTION  BY 

CYRUS  ELDER 


REVISED  EDITION  FROM  THE  SECOND  AMERICAN  EDITION, 
IN  TWO  VOLUMES,  PUBLISHED  IN  BOSTON  IN  1833 


PHILADELPHIA  &  LONDON 

J.  B.  LIPPINCOTT  COMPANY 

1908 


h5 


PEINTED  BY  J.  B.  LTPPINCOTT  COMPANY 
THE  WASHINGTON  SQUARE  PRESS,  PHILADELPHIA 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Introduction   9 

PART  I. 

Historical  notice  and  general  view   33 

Section  I. 

Sensibility   47 

It  resides  in  the  brain   47 

Objections   48 

Section  II. 

The  manifestations  of  the  mind  depend  on  the  whole  body,  and  the 

feelings  on  the  viscera   52 

Temperaments   54 

Viscera   56 

Section  III. 

The  brain  is  the  organ  of  the  mind   58 

Diseases  and  wounds  of  the  brain   61 

Hydrocephalus   68 

Ossified  brains   76 

Metaphysicians   80 

Absolute  size  of  the  brain   81 

Proportionate  size  of  the  brain  to  the  body   82 

Facial  angle  of  Camper   85 

Cerebral  parts  compared  with  one  another   88 

Section  IV. 

The  brain  is  an  aggregation  of  organs   90 

Objections    99 

Section  V. 

Means  of  determining  the  functions  of  the  cerebral  parts   109 

Anatomy   109 

Mutilations   114 

Sir  Everard  Home's  method   115 

Dr.  Gall's  proceeding   117 

5 


6 


CONTENTS 


Section  VI. 

PAGE 

Craniology   130 

Cause  of  the  form  and  size  of  the  head   130 

Objections   135 

Possibility  of  distinguishing  the  size  of  the  brain   141 

Difficulty  of  distinguishing  the  size  of  certain  parts  of  the  brain   143 

Impossibility  of  distinguishing  the  size  of  the  brain   146 

Section  VII. 

Division  of  the  faculties  of  the  mind   148 

Order  in  which  the  organs  may  be  treated   154 

Section  VIII. 

Order  I. — Feelings   160 

t  Vitativeness   160 

*  Alimentiveness   161 

Organ  of  Destructiveness   163 

Amativeness   171 

Philoprogenitiveness   176 

Adhesiveness   182 

Inhabitiveness   185 

Combativeness  :   191 

Secretiveness   194 

Acquisitiveness    196 

Constructiveness   203 

Cautiousness    205 

Approbativeness   212 

Self-esteem   214 

Benevolence.   218 

Reverence   225 

Firmness   228 

Conscientiousness   230 

Hope   240 

Marvellousness   241 

Ideality  '.   243 

Mirthfulness   245 

Imitation   249 

Section  IX. 

Order  II. — Intellectual  Faculties    252 

External  senses   253 

Generalities   254 

Functions  erroneously  attributed  to  the  external  senses   281 

Sphere  of  activity  of  the  external  senses   293 


CONTENTS  7 

PAGE 

Feeling   296 

Taste   296 

Smell   300 

Hearing   301 

Sight   303 

Perceptive  faculties   309 

Organ  of  Individuality   313 

Configuration   316 

Size   317 

Weight   318 

Coloring   319 

Locality   321 

Order   325 

Calculation   326 

Eventuality   328 

Time   329 

Tune   330 

Language  ,   332 

Comparison   339 

Causality   343 

Conclusion   346 


PART  11. 


Section  I. 

Observations  on  various  systems  of  mental  philosophy   353 

General  view  of  mental  philosophy   353 

Particular  views  of  philosophers   372 

Instinct   372 

Understanding   374 

Consciousness  and  sensation   376 

Perception    377 

Attention   379 

Memory   381 

Reminiscence   382 

Imagination   383 

Judgment  .*    384 

Association   387 

Categories   390 

Desire  and  will   391 

Affections   394 

Passions    396 


8 


CONTENTS 


Section  II. 

PAQB 

Phrenological  description  and  classification  of  mental  phenomena.  .  .  .  398 

Section  III. 

Origin  of  the  mental  dispositions   402 

All  is  innate  in  man   403 

A  few  general  faculties  are  innate  and  produce  the  particular  dispo- 
sitions   405 

The  external  senses  are  the  cause  of  mental  activity   409 

Of  accidental  circumstances  as  the  cause  of  mental  phenomena   409 

Society   411 

Misery   412 

Climate   413 

Of  prepared  circumstances  or  Education   414 

Innateness  of  the  mental  dispositions   418 

Section  IV. 

The  brain  is  indispensable  to  the  mental  phenomena   424 

Section  V. 

Practical  considerations   431 

Modifications  of  the  affective  and  intellectual  phenomena   432 

DiflSculty  of  judging  others   440 

Section  VI. 

Explanation  of  philosophical  ex;pressions   444 

Conclusion   459 


INTRODUCTION 


The  Second  American  Edition  of  Dr.  J.  G.  Spurzheim's 
Phrenology  was  an  improved  version  of  the  Third  London 
Edition.  It  was  issued  in  Boston  in  1833,  in  two  volumes, 
a  physiological  and  a  psychological  part,  and  the  present 
volum^e  is  a  reprint,  without  change  in  the  text,  except  the 
omission  of  the  author's  reflections  upon  the  moral  and  relig- 
ious constitution  of  man,  his  voluminous  Latin  notes  and  a 
controversy  with  George  Combe. 

Alfred  Russel  Wallace  in  his  book  on  the  last  century, 
after  giving  a  history  of  its  achievements,  recites  its  failures, 
intellectual,  social,  and  moral,  of  which  he  gives  the  first 
place  to  the  failure  to  recognize  the  substantial  truth  and  vast 
importance  of  the  Science  of  Phrenology. 

This  new  science,  which  defined  the  mental  faculties  and 
shov/ed  specifically  the  connection  of  mind  and  brain, 
received  serious  attention  during  the  first  half  of  the  last 
century,  and,  considering  the  progress  it  had  made,  and  its 
acknowledgment  by  the  distinguished  men  whom  he  names, 
Mr.  Wallace  says,  there  seemed  to  be  no  reason  why  it 
should  not  take  its  place  among  the  recognized  sciences." 
Instead  of  this  it  began  to  decline  until  neglect  of  it  is  almost 
complete.  Of  this  decline  Mr.  Wallace  says,  the  two  main 
causes  which  discredited  Phrenology  appear  to  have  been 
(1)  the  increase  of  itinerant  lecturers,  many  of  whom  were 
uneducated,  and  some  ignorant  of  the  subject  they  professed 
to  expound ;  (2)  its  association  with  mesmerism  or  hypnotism, 
which  at  that  time  was  still  more  violently  opposed.'' 

Admitting  the  force  of  these  reasons  it  would  appear  that 
they  do  not  suffice,  and  a  more  potent  cause  may  be  found 
in  the  nature  of  the  subject  itself.  The  spirit  of  the  time 
was  and  still  is  materialistic ;  it  has  a  great  variety  of  indi- 
vidual speculations,  but  no  science  of  mind,  and  desires  none. 
Caviar  to  the  general,  the  mind  is  an  unknown  country  which 
excites  curiosity  only  in  an  occasional  college  professor  who 

9 


10 


INTRODUCTION 


makes  excursions  into  it  without  a  map  or  guide  and  brings 
back  nothing  of  value. 

With  respect  to  the  place  of  the  mind  in  the  physical 
organization  there  were  various  conflicting  theories  which 
Dr.  Spurzheim  was  obliged  to  discuss,  but  although  the 
emotions  are  popularly  supposed  to  reside  in  the  heart,  it 
is  now  generally  acknowledged  that  the  brain  is  the  organ  of 
the  mind.  If  this  is  conceded,  is  it  not  clear  that  brain 
and  mind  should  be  studied  together,  that  this  is  the  only 
scientific  method,  that  it  is  impossible  to  know  one  fully  while 
ignorant  of  the  other  ?  Unfortunately,  except  by  Doctors 
Gall  and  Spurzheim,  they  have  not  been  studied  together,  for 
in  what  is  called  Physiological  Psychology,  separate  studies 
— what  one  set  of  Scientists  conjectures  of  the  mind,  and  what 
another  set  has  found  in  the  brain — have  been  merely  patched 
together.  The  mind  belongs  to  the  Psychologist,  who  as  a 
Doctor  of  Philosophy  knows  nothing  of  the  brain,  while 
the  brain  is  turned  over  to  the  Anatomist,  a  Doctor  of 
Medicine,  who  knows  nothing  of  the  mind. 

Here  we  see  a  further  cause  of  the  failure  of  Phrenology  to 
secure  acceptance  as  a  science,  which,  as  suggested  by  Mr. 
Wallace,  happened  about  sixty  years  ago.  This  was  a  great 
calamity,  for  there  is  nothing  to  take  its  place.  The  Doctors 
of  Philosophy  and  the  Doctors  of  Medicine,  working  on 
their  several  lines,  have  made  no  progress  in  mental  science, 
they  have  disclosed  no  undisputed  fact,  and  they  have  evolved 
no  consistent  or  definite  system.  Indeed,  there  are  as  many 
conflicting  systems  as  there  are  authors. 

The  failure  of  the  Doctor  of  Medicine  to  discover  the 
mental  functions  of  the  brain  is  easily  accounted  for. 
Anatomy  reveals  no  function.  The  structure  of  the  heart 
had  been  known  to  the  medical  profession  for  so  long  a 
period  of  time  that  it  was  comparatively  but  the  other  day 
when  William  Harvey  discovered  its  function  of  circulating 
the  blood.  The  announcement  of  this  discovery  had  a  prompt 
but  only  a  partial  acceptance,  for  it  is  said  that  no  English 
physician,  at  that  time  above  the  age  of  forty  years,  gave  his 
assent  to  it,  while  on  the  Continent  it  met  with  opposition 


INTRODUCTION 


11 


and  ridicule.  The  doctor  is  preeminently  and  often  exclu- 
sively a  materialist;  here  was  a  purely  material  fact  per- 
petually presented  to  him,  which  he  failed  to  recognize,  and 
it  is  useless  to  expect  him  to  do  something  much  more  diffi- 
cult, for  which  he  has  neither  the  desire  nor  the  equipment — 
to  find  the  sj^iritual  functions  of  the  brain.  The  doctor  does 
not  regard  himself  as  unfitted  for  this  task,  not  at  all, — he 
thinks  it  is  ridiculous.  He  knows  himself  to  be  a  competent 
observer;  the  brain  is  a  country  he  has  thoroughly  explored 
without  ever  encountering  a  native,  and  he  is  thoroughly 
convinced  that  it  is  uninhabited.  A  mental  faculty  does  not 
carry  a  club  and  cannot  make  its  presence  known  to  him 
by  whacking  him  over  the  head. 

Along  material  lines  the  labors  of  the  doctor  have  been 
fruitful  in  largely  extending  the  sphere  of  useful  knowledge. 
It  was  known  that  one  system  of  the  nerves  transmitted 
sensations  to  the  brain,  in  which  alone  consciousness  resides, 
and  that  a  different  system  of  nerves  bore  from  the  brain 
commands  of  voluntary  motion  to  the  muscles  of  the  body 
and  controlled  their  execution,  but  recently  a  number  of 
separate  centers  of  sensation  and  of  motion  have  been  found 
in  the  brain.  The  definite  location  in  the  brain  of  nerve- 
centers  of  voluntary  motion,  and  of  other  nerve-centers  which 
regulate  the  activities  of  the  visceral  organs,  whose  functions 
are  discharged,  for  the  most  part,  without  our  knowledge  or 
control,  is  an  inestimable  boon  to  surgery ;  when  certain  wires 
are  dead,  the  surgeon  knows  the  particular  center  in  the 
brain  which  is  out  of  order  and  just  where  to  operate.  An 
eminent  Doctor  of  Medicine,  in  a  recent  magazine  article, 
sets  forth  the  Anatomy  of  the  brain  in  connection  with  these 
new  discoveries,  with  attractive  lucidity,  making  it  an  occa- 
sion, however,  for  a  fresh  assault  on  Phrenology.  In 
speaking  of  the  location  of  brain  centers,  he  says,  "  it  was 
the  early  endeavor  of  Phrenologists  to  map  out  the  homes 
of  the  mental  faculties  and  give  each  its  name.  It  seems 
scarcely  worth  the  while  to  characterize  the  methods  or  results 
of  these  geographers  of  the  brain."  Of  the  thoroughly 
scientific  and  almost  inconceivably  painstaking  method  of 


13 


INTRODUCTION 


Doctors  Gall  and  Spurzheim,  this  Author  evidently  knows 
nothing,  and  he  also  knows  nothing  of  the  System  of  Mental 
Philosophy  which  is  its  result.  Continuing,  he  says,  "  to 
those  who  believe  in  them  [these  methods  and  results]  we 
might  seem  harsh,  and  to  those  who  do  not  believe  in  them 
consideration  would  be  supererogation.'' 

Descending  to  particulars  the  Doctor  states  an  objection 
which  appears  to  him  to  be  conclusive.  He  says,  "  Phrenol- 
ogists have  constructed  charts  which  define  every  bit  of 
surface  of  the  brain.  These  charts  are  rather  popular. 
People  love  thoroughness  and  these  charts  seem  of  its  essence. 
That  they  have  found  the  homes  of  all  the  most  ethereal 
functions  and  left  no  abiding  place  for  the  motor  functions, 
the  regions  which  enable  our  beautiful  machinery  to  run, 
is  unfortunate  according  to  the  point  of  view.  As  a  com- 
mercial proposition — no.    As  a  scientific  exposition — ^yes." 

In  the  motive  centers  and  the  nerves  connecting  with  them, 
the  Doctor  has  found  only  the  apparatus  of  motion,  merely 
inert  matter  apart  from  the  psychical  origin  of  motion — the 
will,  inspired  by  the  emotions  and  informed  by  the  intelli- 
gence, which  causes  and  directs  all  the  innumerable  purposed 
actions  of  the  physical  man.  Must  this  spiritual  agent  which 
gives  motion  to  the  machinery  and  controls  its  operations 
have  a  place  somewhere  apart  from  it  ?  Is  it  conceivable  that 
the  spiritual  power  and  its  material  instrument  must 
mutually  exclude  each  other,  or  that  the  instrument  may 
occupy  so  much  space  that  there  is  no  room  for  the  power 
which  operates  it? 

The  brain  is  the  business  ofiice  of  the  mind — the  spiritual 
man.  It  is  the  noblest  structure  in  the  world  and  stands 
in  the  noblest  place.  It  is  perfectly  equipped  for  business 
purposes.  It  has  an  elaborate  system  of  telegraph  lines  for 
the  receipt  and  prompt  distribution  of  intelligence,  and 
another  system  of  lines  for  transmitting  orders  to  a  multitude 
of  active  servants.  It  is  an  organized  business  with  numerous 
departments,  and  that  some  of  them  should  have  central 
offices  for  the  receipt  of  intelligence  and  its  inter-communica- 
tion, and  others  of  them  should  have  central  offices  for  the 


INTRODUCTION 


13 


transmission  of  orders  and  control  of  their  execution,  is 
what  a  business  man  would  naturally  expect;  but  it  would 
surprise  him  to  be  told  that  in  the  central  offices  the  desks 
were  all  vacant,  that  there  is  nobody  there,  never  had  been 
and  never  would  be,  that  the  office  apparatus  took  up  so 
much  material  space  that  there  was  no  room  for  a  spiritual 
operator. 

The  medical  profession  has  accorded  little  weight  to  "  the 
evidence  of  things  not  seen."  Mind  cure  is  as  well  authen- 
ticated as  medical  cure,  and  it  was  and  is  the  duty  of  the 
doctor  as  a  professional  healer,  at  least,  to  invoke  its  aid. 
His  invincible  materialism  has  prevented  this.  The  accept- 
ance of  mind  cure  and  its  rational  use  would  have  given  us 
pharmacy  plus  faith,  instead  of  which  there  is  a  fight  of 
Faith  versus  Pharmacy  often  exceedingly  irrational,  which 
is  becoming  world  wide,  and  everywhere  it  is  going  against 
the  defendant. 

The  loss  of  a  prospective  benefit  may  be  more  serious,  but 
it  is  not  as  impressive  as  an  immediate  injury.  Property, 
liberty,  and  life  itself,  are  often  at  stake  upon  a  question  of 
testamentary,  contractual,  or  criminal  capacity,  or  some 
alleged  mental  aberration.  Such  matters  are  often  decided 
by  an  ordinary  doctor,  and  upon  the  certificate  of  two  doctors 
a  sane  man  may  be  imprisoned  for  life.  In  a  big  will  case, 
or  murder  case,  however,  if  the  parties  have  money,  that 
most  grotesque  and  expensive  creature,  the  professional 
Alienist,  is  put  upon  the  witness  stand,  to  pronounce  a  judg- 
ment of  sanity  or  insanity,  based  upon  a  hypothetical  question 
which  it  takes  half  an  hour  to  read.  His  answer  surprises 
no  one,  for  it  always  sustains  the  theory  of  the  party  who 
called  him,  and  there  are  other  experts  to  corroborate  him; 
but  the  other  side  has  as  many  or  more  experts  to  swear 
directly  to  the  contrary,  the  result  being  a  mass  of  conflicting 
and  unintelligible  testimony,  which  is  a  hindrance  to  the 
administration  of  justice.  To  the  professional  witness,  the 
opportunity  to  propound  his  theories  to  Court  and  Jury  and 
a  listening  world,  brings  fame  and  profit.  Happy  is  the 
expert,  who  can  invent  a  new  phase  of  mental  disorder,  and 


14 


INTRODUCTION 


give  it  a  name,  which  has  a  run  in  the  newspapers,  and 
captivates  the  fancy  of  endmen  in  the  minstrel  shows.  For- 
tunately, the  man  in  the  street "  is  accepted  by  the  Court 
as  a  competent  witness,  and  juries  having  common  sense 
give  more  weight  to  his  testimony  than  to  that  of  the  profes- 
sional witness. 

Since  the  above  mentioned  failure  of  Phrenology,  the 
Doctor  of  Medicine  has  made  no  intentional  contribution  to 
the  progress  of  the  science  of  mind.  If  there  has  been  such 
progress,  it  is  owing  to  the  labors  of  the  Psychologist,  who 
has  been  very  active.  It  is  a  matter  of  business  with  him  and 
he  must  be  always  on  the  job.  His  time-honored  method, 
which  is  held  to  be  the  only  scientific  method,  is  introspection ; 
he  explores  his  own  consciousness,  and  a  transcription  of  its 
records  is  his  contribution  to  the  science  of  Psychology.  The 
method  is  easy,  but  the  results  are  diverse  and  contradictory. 
John  Fearne,  an  opponent  of  Bishop  Berkeley,  writing  more 
than  sixty  years  ago,  heads  his  chapter  upon  the  scope  and 
limits  of  inquiry  proper  to  the  philosophy  of  mind,  "  The 
Striking  Inconsistency  of  the  Views  which  have  been  taken  of 
the  Subject,"  and  Herbert  Spencer,  after  giving  many  pages 
of  his  Psychology  to  the  search  for  a  datum  for  his  system, 
says,  the  need  for  this  preliminary  inquiry  is  abundantly 
proved  by  the  utter  confusion  of  current  opinion  upon  all 
fundamental  questions.'^  The  science  is  in  no  better  case 
than  it  was  sixty  years  ago. 

Definition  of  the  distinctions  of  psychical  life  as  cogni- 
tions, feelings,  and  conatives,  goes  back  to  Aristotle,  and 
until  lately  has  been  generally  accepted,  but  it  is  now  taught 
that  feeling  is  the  only  primordial  element,  all  others  being 
derivatives,  a  doctrine  which  is  said  by  its  opponents  "to 
derive  its  plausibility  from  the  vagueness  of  psychological 
terminology." 

A  recent  and  what  should  be  regarded  as  authoritative 
statement,  made  by  a  professor  of  the  science,  is  as  follows : 
"  The  datum  for  a  Psychology  if  it  is  to  be  a  scientific 
Psychology  is — Thought  goes  on,  there  are  processes  of 
thought  in  the  world." 


INTRODUCTION 


15 


"  The  subject  matter  of  Psychology  is  thought  just  as 
thought  exists,  thought  looked  at  for  its  own  sake  and 
interest." 

The  method  of  Psychology  is  introspection — in  the 
physical  sciences  we  look  out  upon  a  world  that  is  shared  by 
everyone  alike,  in  Psychology  we  look  within  upon  our 
personal  world." 

"  The  problem  of  Scientific  Psychology  is  to  bring  order 
out  of  the  chaos  of  immediate  experience." 

It  is  not  proposed  to  change  individual  experience  but  out 
of  its  chaos  to  bring  some  orderly  way  of  thinking  about  it — 
an  impossible  task,  every  effort  to  accomplish  which  results 
in  confusion  worse  confounded.  We  are  warned  that 
Aristotle's  basis  of  the  Science  is  a  quicksand  and  exploring 
it  further  we  never  come  upon  solid  ground.  There  is  no 
recognition  of  any  innate  propensity  or  power;  faculties, 
capacities,  and  dispositions  are  expressly  and  indeed  con- 
temptuously denied,  the  mind  is  not  an  organization,  but 
modes  of  motion,  of  which  no  two  observers  give  a  like  report. 
We  encounter  endless  and  most  abstruse  disquisitions  upon 
the  patent  and  latent  errors  of  Kant,  Hume,  Locke,  Bain, 
Reid,  Hamilton,  Spencer,  and  other  eminent  authors,  and  a 
considerable  part  of  every  important  work  or  essay  upon 
Psychology  consists  of  detailed  and  general  dissent  from  all 
other  authors. 

That  Psychology  is  a  science  is  insisted  upon  by  its  pro- 
fessors and  teachers,  but  the  study  of  thought  "  just  as 
thought  exists,  thought  looked  at  for  its  own  sake  and 
interest,"  naturally  has  little  interest  for  anybody  except  the 
looker-on,  and  it  has  no  relation  to  character,  conduct,  or 
anything  in  the  wide  world  except  the  making  of  a  book  about 
itself. 

It  is  claimed  that  Psychology  has  made  progress  because 
it  has  taken  on  a  new  phase.  It  has  become  experimental 
and  has  laboratories  equipped  with  delicate  and  elaborate 
apparatus.  Registration  of  the  action  of  nerve  fluid  or  nerve 
force,  in  normal  conditions,  or  under  the  influence  of  internal 
or  external  stimuli,  is  interesting,  but  it  adds  nothing  to  the 


16 


INTRODUCTION 


science  of  mind,  nor  would  it  do  so  even  if  it  could  give  the 
length  of  an  idea  in  millimetres  and  the  weight  of  an  emotion 
in  milligrammes.  Such  an  achievement  of  the  'New  School  of 
Psychology  would  have  no  more  value  than  that  of  a  professor 
of  the  Old  School,  who,  without  the  aid  of  machinery,  sets 
forth  in  detail  the  elements  of  the  state  of  mind  of  a  dog 
who  has  just  finished  his  daily  meal,  carefully  designating 
them  by  large  and  little  letters  of  the  alphabet. 

For  many  reasons  Herbert  Spencer's  system  of  Psychology 
should  receive  large  consideration.  He  endeavors  to  extend 
the  alleged  causes  and  processes  of  the  evolution  of  the  body, 
to  the  evolution  of  mind,  and  to  define  mental  phenomena 
in  terms  of  matter  and  motion.  E'ecessarily  he  dissents  from 
pretty  much  everything  that  had  been  taught  by  other  au- 
thors, his  initial  chapters  furnishing  the  following  examples : 
Eeid,  in  his  essay  on  The  Intellectual  Powers  of  Man,  ^'  beats 
the  air,  he  assumes  all  that  Scepticism  calls  in  question ;  " 
"  Sir  William  Hamilton's  doctrines  look  tenable  but  some  of 
his  main  propositions  are  open  to  objection,  and,  especially, 
his  proposition  on  which  depends  the  whole  defense  of  Com- 
mon Sense  against  Scepticism,  is  not  only  disputed,  but  if 
true,  it  would  not  help  his  side  of  the  case ;  "  the  basic 
proposition  of  Descartes  is  condemned;  and  Mill's  ideas  are 
criticised  at  great  leng*th  and  dissented  from;  all  of  which 
is  a  preparatory  clearing  up  of  the  ground  on  which  to  lay 
the  corner  stone  of  his  own  system  of  Psychology. 

In  his  data  of  Psychology,  Mr.  Spencer  declares  himself 
to  be  "  primarily  concerned  with  psychological  phenomena  as 
phenomena  of  Evolution;  and,  under  their  objective  aspect, 
these,  reduced  to  their  lowest  terms,  are  incidents  in  the 
continuous  re-distribution  of  Matter  and  Motion.  Apart 
from  any  doctrine  of  Evolution,  true  conclusions  respecting 
psychical  phenomena  must  be  based  on  the  facts  exhibited 
throughout  all  nature;  and  that  the  above  statement  does 
literally  nothing  else  than  express  these  facts — expresses  too, 
all  that  direct  induction  can  tell  us  respecting  these  essential 
relations." 

After  discussing  the  Data  of  Psychology,  the  Scope  of 


INTRODUCTION 


17 


Psychology,  and  giving  a  General  Synthesis  and  a  Special 
Synthesis,  Mr.  Spencer  reaches  this  conclusion :  A  succes- 
sion of  changes  being  thus  the  subject  matter  of  Psychology, 
it  is  the  business  of  Psychology  to  determine  the  law  of  their 
succession.  That  they  follow  one  auother  in  a  particular 
way  the  existence  of  the  intelligence  itself  testifies.  The 
problem  is  to  explain  this  order." 

Definitions  are  dangerous  and  generalities  often  mislead- 
ing, but  it  may  be  said  that,  posing  as  a  Realist,  Mr.  Spencer 
is  a  Phenomenalist ;  he  has  a  phenomenal  mind  in  a  phe- 
nomenal world,  while  Phrenology  has  a  real  mind  in  a  real 
world.  His  system  is  a  study  of  the  evolution  of  mind  and 
with  this  Phrenology  has  no  concern.  Phrenology  defines 
the  mental  faculties  and  their  special  organs  in  the  brain, 
without  inquiring  how  they  were  made,  and,  with  respect  to 
faculties  which  are  common  to  man  and  the  animals,  it  holds 
that  they  have  a  corresponding  location  in  the  animaFs  brain. 
A  mental  faculty  is  a  finished  product,  it  never  changes  its 
nature  nor  does  the  organ  change  its  place;  the  newly 
acquired  bit  of  brain  is  always  in  a  higher  place,  it  is  always 
the  dwelling-place  of  a  new  and  higher  faculty,  and,  however 
it  may  have  been  acquired,  it  is  never  lost.  The  evolution 
of  mind  to  its  completion  in  man,  is  concurrent  with  develop- 
ment of  brain,  and  thus  its  ascending  steps  are  definitely  and 
ineradicably  marked,  by  the  stages  which  are  the  final  halting 
places  of  the  less  favored  animals. 

With  Mr.  Spencer  neither  mind  nor  brain  is  considered  to 
have  a  quality  of  permanence,  both  are  in  a  state  of  evolution 
and  devolution;  faculties  are  not  simple  qualities  or  powers, 
but  responses  to  assemblages  of  phenomena,  which  assem- 
blages may  at  first  be  casual,  but  if  they  become  habitual, 
the  response,  beginning  as  an  incipient  emotion,  becomes  an 
established  emotion,  always  subject,  however,  to  change  and 
degradation.  The  difference  between  the  two  systems  is 
well  brought  out  by  Mr.  Spencer's  objections  to,  and  his 
commendation  of.  Phrenology,  which  must  be  quoted  in  full. 
He  says,  "  Among  fundamental  objections  to  their  [the 
Phrenologists' J  view,  the  first  to  be  set  down  is,  that  they 

2 


18 


INTRODUCTION 


are  unwarranted  in  assuming  precise  demarcation  of  the 
faculties.  The  only  localization  which  the  necessities  of  the 
case  imply,  is  one  of  a  comparatively  vague  kind — one  which 
does  not  impose  specific  limits,  but  a  shading  oif.  Moreover 
\  I  believe  the  Phrenologists  to  be  wrong,  in  assuming  that 
\  there  is  something  specific  and  imalterable  in  the  nature  of 
the  various  faculties.  Responding,  as  faculties  do,  to  par- 
ticular assemblages  of  phenomena,  they  are  only  so  far  fixed 
and  specific.  A  permanent  alteration  in  one  of  these 
assemblages,  would  in  time,  established  a  modified  feeling 
adapted  to  the  modified  assemblage.  A  habit  say,  of  sitting 
in  a  particular  place  in  a  particular  room,  ending  in  being 
uncomfortable  elsewhere,  is  nothing  but  an  incipient  emo- 
tion answering  to  that  group  of  outer  relations,  and  if  all 
the  successors  of  the  person  having  this  habit,  were  constantly 
placed  in  the  same  relation,  the  incipient  emotion  would 
become  an  established  emotion.  So  little  specific  are  the 
faculties,  that  no  one  of  them  is  quite  of  the  same  quality  in 
different  persons,  and  they  are  variable  to  as  great  an  extent 
as  each  feature  is  variable." 

It  is  the  purpose  of  Doctor  Spurzheim's  Phrenology  to 
establish  as  absolute  truth,  not  that  "  there  is  something 
specific  and  unalterable  in  the  nature  of  the  various 
faculties,"  but  that  they  are  absolutely  specific  and  unalter- 
able, and  that  there  is  a  correspondingly  specific  and 
unalterable  location  of  each  faculty  in  the  brain.  The  loca- 
tion of  the  faculties  was  mainly  discovered  by  Doctor  Gall,  in 
a  lifetime  devoted  to  the  search.  Their  philosophical  defini- 
tion is  due  to  Doctor  Spurzheim,  and  is  set  forth  in  this  book. 
Confident  appeal  may  be  made  to  his  method  of  determining 
whether  a  claimant  to  the  distinction,  is  a  simple,  primitive, 
and  innate  faculty  or  not. 

There  is  no  shading  off  "  or  gradual  mutation  by  whicH 
a  faculty  changes  its  nature  and  location.  Destructiveness, 
which  lies  at  the  base  of  the  brain,  did  not  gradually  change 
its  nature  until  cruelty  became  kindness.  During  a  long 
period  of  time  [N'ature  was  "  red  in  every  tooth  and  claw," 
the  law  of  life  was  to  kill  or  be  killed — and  then  Benevolence 


INTRODUCTION 


19 


was  born.  This  new  bit  of  brain  did  not  appear  at  its  base, 
but  high  up  and  far  away  upon  its  crown.  The  organ  of 
Destructiveness  remains  where  it  always  was  and  its  function 
has  never  changed.  It  differs  widely  in  its  development  and 
force,  as  may  be  seen  in  the  head  of  a  savage  as  compared 
with  that  of  a  gentle  dog,  and  an  intelligent  jockey  can  point 
out  the  particular  difference  in  brain  development  which 
makes  the  difference  between  a  kind  and  a  vicous  horse.  He 
puts  his  finger  on  the  organ  of  Benevolence  though  he  does 
not  know  it  by  that  name. 

Largely  developed  and  forcible  in  one  person,  and  but 
little  developed  and  feeble  in  another,  the  quality  of  Destruc- 
tiveness is  always  the  same,  but  as  a  factor  in  character  and 
in  its  manifestation  in  conduct  it  has  just  such  a  sphere  of 
influence  as  the  other  faculties  will  allow.  With  disuse  a 
faculty  decays,  and  under  the  control  of  Benevolence  and  the 
other  faculties  proper  to  man,  Destructiveness  has  lost  much 
of  its  power;  but  its  nature  has  not  changed,  its  primitive 
quality  as  it  was  in  the  animals  of  the  Jurassic  period  and 
in  the  Baresark  rage,  is  shown  in  the  homicidal  mania  of 
persons  otherwise  sane,  in  poisoners  and  other  murderers 
without  motive  other  than  delight  in  destroying  life,  and  in 
outbursts  of  savagery  in  a  mob  of  lynchers  who  enjoy  the 
torture  of  a  victim  burned  at  the  stake. 

To-day  the  civilized  countries  train  their  citizens  in  the 
art  of  killing — in  some  an  apprenticeship  to  this  art  is  com- 
pulsory. The  professional  killer  is  most  largely  esteemed 
and  rewarded  with  place  and  power,  and  peoples  are  impover- 
ished by  the  enormous  outlay  of  their  governments  for 
weapons  and  ships  of  war,  each  striving  for  something  more 
deadly  than  what  is  possessed  by  the  others.  Destructiveness 
shows  no  sign  of  "  shading  off."  Comparing  man  with  the 
animals  of  the  Jurassic  period,  who  were  innocently  obeying 
the  law  of  their  life,  it  is  justly  said: 

"  Monsters  of  the  prime, 
That  tare  each  other  in  the  slime. 
Were  mellow  music  matched  with  him." 


20 


INTRODUCTION 


Phrenology  does  not  concern  itself  about  the  origin  of  a  new 
bit  of  brain  without  which  a  new  perception  or  emotion  can- 
not be  manifested.  Erom  the  time  when  it  first  appeared  in 
a  recognizable  form  in  the  lower  animals,  the  brain  has  been 
safely  housed  within  a  bony  covering,  its  visible  environment, 
alone  witli  its  tenant,  the  mind,  and  the  causes  said  to  account 
for  the  evolution  of  the  body  can  have  no  place.  There  is 
no  struggle  for  existence,  no  natural  selection  or  sexual 
selection,  no  accidental  variations,  for  all  variations  have  a 
cause  and  serve  a  purpose,  and  it  has  itself  made  all  the 
changes  that  have  gone  forward  in  the  evolution  of  its  visible 
environment. 

What  has  been  said  about  Destructiveness  may  be  said  as 
positively  and  forcibly  about  every  emotional  and  every  per- 
ceptive faculty,  and,  especially  with  respect  to  the  perceptive 
faculties — Form,  Size,  ^Number,  Order,  Color,  Locality,  etc., 
the  theory  of  "  shading  off  "  and  handy-dandy  mutations,  is 
a  palpable  absurdity. 

As  a  further  objection  to  Phrenology,  Mr.  Spencer  says, 
"  the  current  impressions  of  Phrenologists  seems  to  be  that 
the  different  parts  of  the  cerebrum  in  which  they  locate  dif- 
ferent faculties,  are  of  themselves  competent  to  produce  the 
manifestations  of  the  names  they  bear.  The  portion  of  the 
brain  marked  ^  acquisitiveness '  is  supposed  to  be  alone  con- 
cerned in  producing  the  desire  of  possession.  But,"  he 
objects,  "  the  desire  includes  a  number  of  minor  desires  else- 
where located.  As  every  more  complex  aggregation  of 
psychical  states  is  evolved  by  the  union  of  similar  aggrega- 
tions previously  established — results  from  the  consolidation 
and  co-ordination  of  these,  it  follows  that  that  which  becomes 
more  specifically  the  seat  of  this  more  complete  aggregation 
or  higher  feeling,  is  simply  the  center  of  co-ordination,  by 
which  all  these  simpler  aggregations  are  brought  into  relation.'' 

Mr.  Spencer's  statement  of  the  current  impressions  of 
Phrenologists  is  obscure.  There  are  innumerable  different 
manifestations  of  the  desire  of  possession.  Acquisitiveness 
is  one  of  thirty-five  innate  faculties,  neither  originated  by 
nor  dependent  upon  aggregations  of  external  phenomena,  but 


INTRODUCTION 


21 


having  innate  activity,  each  of  them  having  many  different 
degrees  of  development;  the  whole  of  them  being  capable  of 
infinitely  more  varied  combinations  than  the  twenty-six 
letters  of  our  alphabet,  or  all  the  letters  and  word-signs  of  all 
languages. 

The  unvarying  quality  of  Acquisitiveness  is  the  desire  to 
possess,  but  its  manifestations  are  inspired,  directed,  or 
repressed,  by  other  faculties,  among  which  are  Mr.  Spencer's 
"  desires  elsewhere  located."  The  simplest  manifestation  of 
^Vcquisitiveness  is  in  the  Magpie,  the  Miser,  and  other 
collectors  of  objects  which  are  neither  useful  nor  beautiful. 
In  the  philanthropist,  Acquisitiveness  yields  to  Benevolence, 
for  to  him  there  is  less  pleasure  in  having  than  in  giving 
away.  The  function  of  Acquisitiveness  may  be  best  stated 
as  the  innate  propensity  to  acquire,  a  faculty  common  to 
man  and  such  of  the  other  animals  as  make  hoards  and  have 
the  sense  of  ownership.  ]^ature  attaches  pleasure  to  every 
propensity  that  is  for  the  preservation  of  the  species,  and  this 
faculty  is  undoubtedly  of  such  quality ;  without  the  hoarding 
instinct  some  animals  could  not  survive,  and  in  man  it  serves 
to  redress  the  balance  of  waste  and  to  make  progress  on  many 
lines  continuously  possible. 

Acquisitiveness  and  the  other  innate  propensities  are  not 
aggregations  of  anything,  they  are  never  consolidated  and 
there  are  no  agencies  in  the  brain  for  their  correlation. 
Their  unvarying  quality  and  persistency  are  undeniable ;  the 
conflict  between  the  animal  propensities  and  the  faculties 
proper  to  man  goes  on  incessantly  from  the  cradle  to  the 
grave,  and  in  its  throes,  the  Apostle  Paul  cries  out,  "  O 
wretched  man  that  I  am,  who  shall  deliver  me  from  the 
body  of  this  death !  " 

Turning  from  the  ungracious  task  of  answering  criticism, 
it  is  a  pleasure  to  quote  Mr.  Spencer's  approval  of  the  essen- 
tial basis  of  Phrenology,  though  he  would  push  its  mental 
faculties  from  their  stools,  and  install  his  aggregated 
responses  to  particular  assemblages  of  phenomena  in  their 
stead.  His  argument  for  specialization  of  the  faculties  and 
their  specific  location  in  the  brain  is  apparently  unanswerable, 


33 


INTRODUCTION 


for  his  peculiar  theory  as  to  the  way  faculties  are  formed 
does  not  impair  the  philosophical  soundness  of  the  principles 
which  he  establishes. 

Mr.  Spencer  says,  Every  emotion  implies  some  portion 
of  nervous  structure  by  which  its  various  elements  are  united, 
which  is  large  and  powerful  as  these  elements  are  many  and 
varied,  and  which  in  virtue  of  its  co-ordinating  function  is 
more  especially  the  seat  of  the  emotion. 

"  That  in  the  antagonism  to  the  unscientific  reasoning  of 
the  phrenologists,  the  physiologists  have  gone  to  the  extent 
of  denying  or  ignoring  any  localization  of  function  in  the 
cerebrum,  is  perhaps  not  to  be  wondered  at ;  it  is  in  harmony 
with  the  course  of  controversies  in  general. 

'No  physiologist  who  calmly  considers  the  question  in 
connection  with  the  general  truths  of  his  science,  can  long 
resist  the  conviction  that  different  parts  of  the  cerebrum 
subserve  different  kinds  of  mental  action.  Localization  of 
function  is  the  law  of  all  organization  whatever.  Separate- 
ness  of  duty  is  universally  accompanied  with  separateness  of 
structure,  and  it  would,  be  marvelous  were  an  exception  to 
exist  in  the  cerebral  hemispheres.  Let  it  be  granted  that  the 
cerebral  hemispheres  are  the  seat  of  the  higher  psychical 
activities ;  let  it  be  granted  that  among  these  higher  psychical 
activities  there  are  distinctions  of  kind,  which,  though  not 
definite,  are  yet  practically  recognizable;  and  it  cannot  be 
denied,  without  going  in  direct  opposition  to  established 
psychological  principles,  that  these  more  or  less  distinct  kinds 
of  psychical  activities  must  be  carried  on  in  more  or  less 
distinct  parts  of  the  cerebral  hemispheres. 

"  To  question  this  is  not  only  to  ignore  the  truths  of 
physiology  as  a  whole ;  but  especially  those  of  the  physiology 
of  the  nervous  system.  It  is  proved  experimentally  that 
every  bundle  of  nerve  fibres  and  every  ganglion  has  a  special 
duty;  and  that  each  part  of  every  such  bundle  and  every 
such  ganglion  has  a  duty  still  more  special.  Can  it  be 
then  that  in  the  great  hemispherical  ganglion  alone,  the 
specialization  of  duty  does  not  hold?  If  it  be  urged  that 
there  are  no  marked  divisions  among  the  fibres  of  the 


INTRODUCTION 


cerebrum,  I  reply — neither  are  there  among  those  contained 
in  one  of  the  bundles  proceeding  from  the  spinal  cord  to  any 
part  of  the  body;  yet  each  of  these  fibres  in  such  bundle  has 
a  function  more  or  less  special,  though  a  function  included 
in  that  of  the  bundle  considered  as  a  whole.  And  this  is  just 
the  kind  of  specialization  which  may  be  presumed  to  exist  in 
different  parts  of  the  cerebrum.  Just  as  there  are  aggregated 
together  in  a  sciatic  nerve,  a  great  number  of  nerve  fibres, 
each  of  which  has  a  particular  ofiice  referring  to  some  one 
part  of  the  leg,  but  all  of  which  have  for  their  joint  duty  the 
management  of  the  leg  as  a  whole,  so  in  any  one  region  of 
the  cerebrum  each  nerve  fibre  may  be  concluded  to  have  some 
particular  office,  which  in  common  with  the  particular  offices 
of  thousands  of  neighboring  fibres,  is  merged  in  some  general 
office  which  that  region  of  the  cerebrum  fulfils.  Indeed  any 
other  hypothesis  seems  to  me,  in  the  face  of  it,  untenable. 
Either  there  is  some  arrangement,  some  organism  in  the 
cerebrum,  or  there  is  none.  If  there  is  no  organization,  the 
cerebrum  is  a  chaotic  mass  of  fibres,  incapable  of  performing 
any  orderly  action.  If  there  is  some  organization,  it  must 
consist  in  that  same  physiological  division  of  labor,''  in 
which  all  organization  consists;  and  there  is  no  division  of 
labor  physiological  or  other,  of  which  we  have  any  example 
or  can  form  any  conception,  but  what  involves  the  concentra- 
tion of  special  kinds  of  activity  in  special  places." 

Tor  this  masterly  exposition  of  an  essential  truth  Mr. 
Spencer  is  entitled  to  thanks.  The  question  must  now  be 
asked,  does  not  the  fact  that  the  brain  is  an  organization  the 
different  parts  of  which  subserve  some  special  psychological 
function,  imply,  or  indeed  make  it  absolutely  necessary,  that 
there  should  be  a  corresponding  organization  of  the  mind? 
Mr.  Spencer's  protest  against  a  conception  of  the  cerebrum 
as  "  a  chaotic  mass  of  fibres  incapable  of  performing  any 
orderly  action,"  w^ould  apply  as  fully  to  a  denial  of  organiza- 
tion to  the  mind. 

In  effect  Mr.  Spencer  denies  such  organization.  His 
shifting  Agglomerations  of  mental  motions,  which  he  calls 
faculties,  are  not  parts  and  members  of  an  organized  whole. 


24, 


INTRODUCTION 


the  individual  Being  which  is  not  something  vague,  but  the 
real,  definite,  and  persistent  man.  Mr.  Spencer  avoids 
recognition  of  this  man,  or  any  organized  whole;  his 
Aggregations  would  leave  the  mind  in  a  state  of  chaos, 
"  unable  to  perform  any  orderly  action  "  were  it  not  for  his 
hypothetical  agencies  for  consolidation  and  co-operation. 
There  is  the  useless  creation  of  an  incredible  difficulty  render- 
ing necessary  the  creation  of  a  like  incredible  remedy. 

If  Mr.  Spencer  had  not  been  under  the  blinding  influence 
of  a  pre-conceived  theory,  he  would  have  admitted  organiza- 
tion of  the  brain  to  be  conclusive  proof  of  organization  of  the 
mind,  and  that  the  one  must  furnish  clues  to  the  other. 

Doctor  Spurzheim's  Phrenology,  to  a  new  edition  of  which 
this  is  a  preface,  has  been  out  of  print  in  England  for  sixty 
years.  Mr.  Spencer  probably  never  saw  it,  and  he  may  have 
derived  his  knowledge  of  the  science  from  teachers  whose 
"  unscientific  reasoning  "  may  be  owing  to  their  ignorance 
of  the  subject  they  profess  to  expound,  and  of  whom  "  sen- 
sativeness  to  criticism would  naturally  be  expected.  Dr. 
Spurzheim  does  not  "  put  forth  the  body  of  his  doctrine  as 
a  complete  system  of  Psychology."  Referring  to  the 
authoritative  definition  of  this  science  in  the  four  propositions 
heretofore  quoted,  it  is  clear  that  Phrenology  makes  no  claim 
to  any  part  of  the  science  of  Psychology — its  "  Datum," 
"  Subject,"  "  Method,"  and  "  Problem,"  are  unknown  to 
Phrenology,  and  the  two  sciences  differ  as  widely  as  the 
Ptolemaic  and  Copernican  systems  of  the  universe. 

With  the  mass  of  matters  presented  in  Mr.  Spencer's  com- 
plete system  of  Psychology,  Phrenology  has  no  concern 
whatever.  In  his  voluminous  treatise  there  are  four  short 
chapters  upon  "  Instinct,"  "  Memory,"  "  Reason,"  and  "  The 
Feelings,"  which  from  his  treatment  of  them  he  must  regard 
as  trivial  matters,  and  of  these  things  Phrenology  has  some- 
what to  say. 

Mr.  Spencer  is  in  accord  with  the  School  of  Mental 
Philosophy  which  hold  that  there  is  nothing  in  the  mind 
that  was  not  first  in  the  senses,  that  the  mind  at  birth  is 


INTRODUCTION 


an  empty  house  that  becomes  transiently  tenanted  by  long 
continued  knocking  on  the  doors.  In  accordance  with  his 
theory  of  Evolution  everything  in  the  mind  originates  in 
and  depends  upon  the  environment.  On  the  contrary,  Phre- 
nology holds  that  the  innate  mental  faculties  are  living  things, 
having  alike  in  man  and  in  the  lower  animals,  instinctive 
promptings  to  action,  which  will  not  be  denied,  and  which 
cannot  be  thwarted  by  environment. 

The  dividing  line  between  man  and  the  other  animals  is 
not  drawn  between  instinct  and  reason.  Instinct  belongs  to 
both,  and  the  lower  animals  have,  to  a  limited  extent,  knowl- 
edge of  the  relations  of  cause  and  effect  in  the  world  around 
them,  and  have,  to  a  limited  extent,  the  intuitions  belonging 
to  the  reasoning  faculties — that  nothing  happens  without  a 
cause,  and  that  like  causes  will  produce  like  effects.^ 

Reason,  and  The  Feelings,  defined  as  Propensities  common 
to  man  and  the  animals  and  Sentiments  proper  to  man,  are 
fully  treated  of  by  Doctor  Spurzheim  in  this  book. 

Mr.  Spencer,  like  all  other  professional  Psychologists, 
regards  Perception,  Memory,  and  Judgment,  as  general 
powers  of  the  mind.  They  are  not  general  powers,  they  are 
special  functions  of  the  special  intellectual  faculties.  When 
one  is  said  to  be  a  man  of  quick  perception,  or  of  good 
memory,  or  sound  judgment,  we  must  ask — of  what  ?  He 
may  be  a  Judge  with  Causality  and  Comparison  well 
developed,  and  he  is  therefore  quick  to  perceive  the  principle 
involved  or  decided  in  a  case,  but  lacking  Humor,  he  is 
unable  to  see  a  joke.  Men  of  good  judgment — of  a  horse 
race,  are  not  likely  to  be  good  judges  of  an  oratorical  contest. 
Managers  of  a  National  Industrial  Exhibition  must  have  as 
many  different  Boards  of  Judges  as  there  are  classes  of 
objects  shown,  and  for  each  special  class  they  select  men 
who  have  just  the  special  Judgment  required.  The  idea 
that  one  Board  could  perform  the  duty  of  another  or  all  the 
others  is  entertained  by  nobody. 

In  oral  argument,  one  Lawyer,  having  Language  and 
Locality  well  developed,  cites  a  case  by  title,  book,  and  page, 


26 


INTRODUCTION 


and  quotes  the  language  used,  but  has  no  clear  perception 
of  the  principle  involved;  another  Lawyer  without  such 
memory,  but  having  Causality  and  Comparison  well 
developed,  can  state  the  principle  decided  in  the  case 
with  perfect  accuracy.  One  Artist,  having  Form  largely 
developed  and  Color  small,  is  a  fine  draftsman  but  a  poor 
colorist;  another,  with  Color  large  and  Form  small,  is  a  fine 
colorist  but  a  poor  draftsman.  A  man  who  perceives  the 
least  deviation  of  a  line  from  the  horizontal  or  perpendicular, 
having  no  organ  of  Tune,  is  unable  to  perceive  the  difference 
between  Yankee  Doodle  and  Old  Hundred.  A  great  chess 
player,  with  Locality  largely  developed,  remembers,  while 
blindfolded,  the  changing  position  of  chessmen,  as  he  plays 
half  a  dozen  simultaneous  games,  but  is  not  noted  for  memory 
of  anything  else.  Blind  Tom,  an  idiotic  negro,  had  Tune 
so  marvelously  developed,  that  when  an  intricate  piece  of 
music  he  had  never  heard  before,  was  played,  he  could  play 
it  over  again  without  missing  a  note.  He  also  had  the  organ 
of  ^^umber  largely  developed  and  remembered  difficult 
mathematical  problems,  solving  them  with  rapidity.  This 
organ  is  generally  small  in  the  animals,  but  there  has  been 
a  recent  case  of  its  extraordinary  development  in  a  German 
horse.  A  multitude  of  like  illustrations  might  be  made,  but 
it  should  be  needless,  for  the  truth  they  teach  is  a  matter  of 
common  knowledge. 

While  the  perceptive  faculties  have  innate  activity,  they 
are  aroused  and  their  actions  sustained  and  directed  by  the 
Propensities  and  Sentiments  which  they  serve.  Reverence 
inspires  Language  to  the  memory  of  a  hymn;  Amativeness 
inspires  it  to  the  memory  of  an  obscene  joke.  To  the  Per- 
ceptions aroused  and  directed  by  Cautiousness,  indications  of 
danger  appear,  which  imder  the  influence  of  Combativeness 
are  invisible. 

Ideality,  in  John  Ruskin,  inspired  his  perception  of  the 
forms  of  majesty  and  beauty,  which,  upon  a  summer  noon, 
nature  painted  in  clouds  upon  the  sky,  and  it  inspired  his 
language  to  describe  the  spectacle  in  words  that  have  no 
parallel  in  English  speech.     Thousands  of  other  men  to 


INTRODUCTION  27 

whom  this  wonderful  spectacle  was  visible  saw  nothing  of  it, 
thej  had  no  perception  of  clouds  that  did  not  threaten  rain. 

Under  the  influence  of  a  dominant  emotion,  only  objects  to 
which  it  relates  are  perceived,  all  others  included  in  vision 
are  as  if  non-existent,  and  are  added  to  the  unrecognized 
things  stored  in  the  subconsciousness.  The  philosophy  of  the 
subject  is  found  alike  in  Shakspeare's  "  lunatic,  lover,  and 
poet,"  and  in  Mother  Goose's  Melodies — 

"  ^  Pussy-cat,  pussy-cat,  where  have  you  been  ? ' 
^  I've  been  to  London  to  look  at  the  Queen.' 
^  Pussy-cat,  pussy-cat,  Avhat  did  you  see  there  ? ' 
^  I  saw  a  little  mouse  run  under  a  chair.'  " 

Mr.  Spencer's  effort  to  bring  the  mind  into  harmony  with 
his  theories  of  evolution,  and  to  state  all  mental  phenomena 
in  terms  of  matter  and  motion,  has  merely  injected  a  new 
element  of  antagonism  into  the  alleged  science  of  Psychology, 
which  is  a  whirling  confusion  of  collisions  and  contradictions, 
of  which  words  fail  to  give  an  adequate  idea.  An  attempt  of 
a  sane  mind  to  comprehend  this  science  of  mind  is 
maddening. 

A  man  who  is  not  a  professor,  but  of  something  more  than 
average  scholarship  and  intelligence,  whose  business  is  the 
compiling  of  useful  books,  had  an  experience  which  he 
narrates  as  follows :  "  I  conceived  the  idea  of  making  a 
hand-book  of  Psychology,  presenting  it  in  a  concise  shape 
suitable  for  a  Popular  Science  Series,  fancying  that  I  could 
make  it  so  attractive  that  everybody  would  want  it  and  even 
children  would  cry  for  it.  I  tried  my  best,  but  had  to  give 
it  up.  It  got  on  my  nerves ;  the  effort  caused  such  bewilder- 
ment of  mind  that  it  troubled  my  sleep  and  culminated  in  a 
phantastic  dream. 

"  I  found,  or  thought  I  found  myself  in  an  unfamiliar 
street,  and,  attracted  by  the  announcement  of  Continuous 
Vaudeville,  I  entered  a  Theatre  and  was  the  only  spectator 
of  a  shadow  show — the  performers  being  All-Star  psychic 
actors  whom  I  recognized  without  the  least  difficulty. 


INTRODUCTION 


^'  Behind  the  curtain  there  was  a  perpetual  coming  and 
going,  as  difficult  to  follow  as  the  performances  in  a  three 
ringed  circus,  and  I  could  take  in  but  a  part  of  the  exhibition, 
which  was  vast  in  extent.  A  brilliant  troupe  of  agile 
Percepts  swiftly  did  their  stunts,  and  changing  into  some- 
thing else  were  followed  by  Concepts  and  Cognitions  in  a 
stately  dance  ending  in  contortions  and  ground  and  lofty 
tumbling;  a  swarm  of  Ideas  and  N^otions  balanced,  swung, 
threw  somersaults  and  jumped  down  each  others  throats; 
veteran  Categories  that  marched  and  wheeled,  dissolved  and 
reformed,  never  presenting  the  same  appearance  from 
moment  to  moment,  and  apparently  regarding  themselves 
as  the  whole  show,  attacked  a  company  of  youthful  Aggrega- 
tions, driving  them  from  the  stage,  and  dim  and  formless 
Hypothetical  Eolations  and  Fictitious  Relations  made  a 
cloudy  background  to  the  scene.  It  was  apparently  essential 
that  everything  should  be  perpetually  in  motion,  and  if  this 
slackened  for  a  moment,  Simple  Suggestions  popped  up 
through  trap-doors  and  poked  the  performers  into  renewed 
activity.  There  was  an  Orchestra,  led  by  a  venerable  shade, 
undoubtedly  Aristotle,  each  of  the  musicians  playing  a  dif- 
ferent tune,  but  in  the  horrible  discord  I  could  recognize  the 
boom  of  German  trombones,  the  tootling  of  American  fifes, 
and  a  multitude  of  bag-pipes  making  a  thundering  drone. 
It  seemed  that  the  show  might  go  on  forever,  and  having 
enough  of  it  and  starting  to  go  out,  I  encountered  one  of  a 
small  army  of  door-keepers,  a  scholarly  looking  man  wearing 
spectacles,  and  asked  him  what  his  exhibition  represented. 
^  It  is  a  Presentation  of  the  Science  of  Psychology,  the 
greatest  show  on  earth,'  he  replied,  and  then  he  insisted  on 
my  buying  his  up-to-date  Book  of  the  Play,  hot  off  of  the 
griddle,  price  two  dollars  and  a  half.  I  did  not  want  to  buy 
the  book,  but  could  not  well  refuse,  and  was  about  handing 
out  the  money,  when  fortunately  I  awoke.'' 

The  foregoing  examination  of  the  status  of  Mental  Science 
shows  that  there  is  apparently  a  good  reason  for  making  a 
new  edition  of  this  book.    Ignorance  of  Phrenology  as  a 


INTRODUCTION 


29 


system  of  mental  philosophy  is  general.  The  works  of  the 
Psychologists  are  rarely  without  mistaken  and  often  silly 
assaults  upon  it,  and  even  such  a  large  and  fair-minded  man 
as  Mr.  Spencer  attributes  to  Phrenology  doctrines  which  it 
does  not  profess,  and  ^'  unscientific  reasoning  "  which  cer- 
tainly does  not  appear  in  this  book  made  by  its  founder.  An 
accessible  authoritative  statement  of  the  principles  of 
Phrenology  is  needed,  and  will  be  found  in  the  following 
treatise,  which  is  as  simple,  clear,  and  logical  as  any  element- 
ary work  in  any  other  science.  It  was  an  unparalleled 
achievement  for  Dr.  Spurzheim  to  take  up  a  multitude  of 
noted  and  recorded  observations  of  character  and  conduct  in 
which  a  particular  Propensity  or  Sentiment  is  an  ever  varying 
factor,  and,  penetrating  through  all  entanglements,  to  find 
and  define  its  unvarying  quality  and  give  it  a  name.  This 
work  of  the  first  great  mental  philosopher,  defining  as  it  does 
the  constitution  of  mind  in  man  and  in  the  lower  animals, 
would  prove  its  truthfulness  and  retain  its  inestimable  value, 
if  the  full  phrenological  reading  of  heads,  always  difiicult, 
had  now  become  impossible. 

The  antagonism  to  Phrenology  is  simply  that  which  is 
encountered  by  every  new  truth,  its  violence  being  always  in 
proportion  to  the  importance  of  the  truth.  There  has  been 
a  real  advance  in  mental  science,  made,  not  by  the  profes- 
sional Psychologists,  but  by  such  men  as  the  naturalist  Wal- 
lace, the  chemist  Crookes,  and  the  astronomer  Plammarion, 
whose  discovery  of  abnormal  mental  powers  in  the  phe- 
nomena of  spiritualism,  corroborated  by  the  experiments  of 
other  eminent  scientists  in  many  countries,  was  received  with 
general  and  persistent  derision;  but  the  pioneer  explorers 
and  their  few  devoted  followers  resolutely  continued  and 
broadened  their  investigations  with  the  result  that  psychical 
research  is  now  altogether  reputable,  and  mental  science  has 
been  enriched  with  knowledge  of  hypnotism,  telepathy,  and 
the  domain  of  subconsciousness.  When  men  of  like  scien- 
tific ability  and  devotion  to  truth  take  up  the  cause  of 
Phrenology,  Mr.  Wallace's  prediction  in  regard  to  it  will  be 


30 


INTRODUCTION 


fulfilled.  It  is  a  confident  prediction,  with  which  he  ends 
his  discussion  of  the  subject  as  follows : 

"  In  the  coming  century  Phrenology  will  assuredly  attain 
general  acceptance.  It  will  prove  itself  to  be  the  true  science 
of  mind.  Its  practical  uses  in  education,  in  self-discipline, 
in  the  reformatory  treatment  of  criminals,  and  in  the 
remedial  treatment  of  the  insane,  will  give  it  one  of  the 
highest  places  in  the  hierarchy  of  the  sciences:  and  its  per- 
sistent neglect  and  obloquy  during  the  last  sixty  years  will 
be  referred  to  as  an  example  of  the  almost  inconceivable 
narrowness  and  prejudice  which  prevailed  among  men  of 
science  at  the  very  time  they  were  making  such  splendid 
advances  in  other  fields  of  thought  and  discovery." 

Cyrus  Elder. 

Philadelphia,  Pa.,  June,  1908. 


PART  I. 


PHRENOLOGY 

OR  THE 

DOCTRINE  OF  THE  MENTAL  PHENOMENA 


mSTOKICAL   NOTICE  AND   GENERAL   VIEW   OF   THE  SUBJECT. 

It  is  sufficiently  known  that  Gall  is  the  first  author  of  this 
new  doctrine.  Many  details  concerning  its  history,  origin, 
and  progress,  may  be  found  in  the  preface  of  the  large  work 
on  the  Anatomic  et  Physiologic  du  System  I^erveux  en 
General  et  du  Cerveau  en  Particulier,  Paris,  1810;  in  the 
appendix  of  my  Essai  Philosophique  sur  la  iTature  Morale 
et  Intellectuelle  de  I'Homme;  in  the  preface  of  my  work  on 
the  Anatomy  of  the  Brain ;  in  the  Preliminary  Dissertation 
in  the  first  volume  of  the  Transactions  of  the  Phrenological 
Society  of  Edinburgh;  in  the  System  of  Phrenology,  by 
George  Combe ;  and  in  the  article  on  Phrenology  in  the  third 
number  of  the  Foreign  Quarterly  Eeview. 

Dr.  Gall,  endowed  with  great  power  of  observation,  viz: 
with  large  individuality  and  eventuality,  from  an  early  age 
was  struck  with  the  fact,  that  each  of  his  brothers  and  sisters, 
companions  and  schoolfellows,  possessed  some  peculiarity  of 
disposition.  The  scholars  who  first  excited  his  attention, 
were  those  who  learned  by  heart  with  great  facility,  and  who 
frequently  gained  from  him  by  repetitions,  the  places  which 
he  had  obtained  by  the  merit  of  his  composition.  He 
observed  that  his  schoolfellows  so  gifted,  possessed  prominent 
eyes.  He  found  this  sign  confirmed  at  different  places 
where  he  studied,  in  all  who  excelled  in  getting  easily  by 
heart,  and  in  giving  correct  recitations.  He  was  always  fond 
3  33 


34 


PHRENOLOGY 


of  the  study  of  man,  of  the  affections  and  passions,  read 
various  books  on  those  subjects,  and  paid  particular  attention 
to  works  on  physiognomy.  He  soon  conceived,  that  if  mem- 
ory for  words  was  indicated  by  an  external  sign,  the  same 
/  might  be  the  case  with  the  other  powers  of  the  mind.  He 
first  looked  for  such  signs  in  the  general  form  of  the  head, 
but  by  degrees  he  found  it  necessary  to  compare  individual 
parts  with  particular  talents  and  character.  But  it  is  to  be 
understood,  that  in  making  these  observations,  he  never 
thought  the  skull  was  the  cause  of  the  different  dispositions 
of  the  mind;  he  referred  the  organic  influence,  whatever  it 
was,  to  the  brain. 
[/  Tor  many  years  he  endeavored  to  discover  external  signs 
in  the  head,  corresponding  to  the  general  powers  spoken  of 
by  metaphysicians,  such  as  perception,  conception,  memory, 
imagination,  and  judgment;  but  not  being  able  to  advance, 
and  finding  contradictions  and  exceptions  without  end,  he 
^feompared  great  talents  for  music,  mechanical  arts,  drawing, 
painting,  dramatic  acting,  poetry,  philology,  mathematics, 
and  metaphysics,  and  since  he  succeeded  with  respect  to  the 
intellectual  functions,  he  also  looked  to  the  head  for  signs 
of  the  different  characters.  Thus,  Gall  gave  himself  up 
entirely  to  the  observation  of  nature,  resorting  merely  to 
physiognomical  indications  as  a  means  of  discovering  the 
functions  of  the  brain,  and  furnishing  an  uncolored  statement 
of  the  facts  in  nature  which  he  observed. 

The  spirit  with  which  Gall  conducted  his  researches  into 
the  moral  and  intellectual  nature  of  man,  is  expressed  in  the 
publication  of  two  chapters  of  a  great  work  entitled  ^  Philo- 
sophisch-medicinische  Untersuchungen  ueber  ITatur  und 
I^unst  im  gesunden  und  kranken  Zustande  des  Menschen. 
Wien,  1Y91.'  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  the  continuation  of 
this  work  has  never  appeared. 

The  first  written  notice  of  Dr.  Gall's  inquiries  concerning 
the  head,  appeared  in  a  familiar  letter  to  Baron  Retzer, 
which  was  inserted  in  the  German  periodical  journal 
'  Deutscher  Mercur,'  in  December,  1Y98. 

In  1796  he  commenced  giving  private  lectures  at  Vienna. 


GENERAL  VIEW 


35 


Several  of  his  bearers,  for  instance  Froriep"^  and  Dr. 
Waltherf  published  notices  of  his  doctrines.  On  the  9th  of 
January,  1802,  the  Austrian  Government  issued  an  order, 
that  his  lectures  should  cease,  his  doctrines  being  considered 
dangerous  to  religion.  ^  A  general  regulation  was  made  upon 
that  occasion,  prohibiting  all  private  lectures,  unless  a  special 
permission  was  obtained  from  the  public  authorities.  Dr. 
Gall  never  solicited  permission,  and  ceased  his  lectures  at 
Vienna. 

In  1800,  I  assisted  for  the  first  time  at  one  of  his  courses 
of  lectures,  and  after  having  completed  mj  medical  studies 
in  1804,  I  became  associated  with  him  in  his  labors,  con- 
cerning the  Anatomy,  Physiology,  and  Pathology  of  the 
brain,  and  nervous  system.  The  merit  of  Dr.  Gall  as  an 
anatomist  may  be  looked  for  in  the  preface  of  my  work  on 
the  Anatomy  of  the  Brain,  and  in  the  second  note  added  to 
the  article  on  Phrenology  from  the  Foreign  Quarterly 
Review.  The  physiological  doctrines,  as  they  are  published 
by  Dr.  Bischoff  in  Berlin,  and  Mr.  Bloede  in  Dresden,  in 
1805,  are  Dr.  Gall's  exclusive  property.  Every  new  addi- 
tion, from  that  period  up  to  1813,  must  be  considered  as 
common  to  us  both,  because  we  pursued  our  inquiries  together, 
as  stated  in  the  preface  of  the  large  work  on  the  Anatomy 
and  Physiology  of  the  Brain.J  In  1813,  our  united  labors 
ceased,  and  since  that  period  each  one  has  inquired  for  him- 
self. Dr.  Gall's  last  publication,  '  sur  les  fonctions  du 
Cerveau,  Paris,  six  volumes,'  fixes  the  extent  of  his  physio- 
logical and  philosophical  notions.  It  contains  the  history  of 
his  proceedings,  and  that  of  every  special  organ  he  discovered. 
It  also  shows  the  arrangement  of  the  organs  which  he 
acknowledges,  and  the  nomenclature  which  he  proposes.  The 
latter  will  be  found  indicating  actions  rather  than  powers,  and 
denotes  the  spirit  in  which  he  conducted  his  researches. 

In  my  nomenclature  the  powers  themselves  are  designated 

*  Exposition  of  the  doctrine  of  Dr.  Gall,  3d  edition, 
f  Exposition  critique  de  la  doctrine  du  Dr.  Gall,  avec  quelques  par- 
ticularites  concernant  son  auteur.    Zurich.  1802. 
I  Preface,  vol.  1.  p.  17. 


36 


PHRENOLOGY 


without  referring  to  any  good  or  bad  purpose.  The  reader 
who  takes  an  interest  in  the  history  of  Phrenology,  and  in 
the  personal  merit  of  its  propounders,  will  distinguish 
between  the  doctrine  as  the  great  founder  discovered  and 
understood  it,  and  Phrenology  as  it  is  taught  in  its  actual 
state  of  improvement. 

We  began  our  joint  labors  in  1804;  all  anatomical  dis- 
coveries, after  that  period,  are  the  result  of  my  exertions. 
In  this  volume,  at  the  end  of  each  chapter,  I  shall  recapitulate 
the  orginal  conceptions  of  Gall  and  my  additions.  Our  ideas 
on  all  the  other  branches  of  Phrenology,  on  the  nature  of 
the  fundamental  powers  of  the  mind,  on  education,  and  on 
the  religious  and  moral  nature  of  man,  are  very  different. 
Gall's  notions  on  those  subjects,  are  dispersed  in  his  above 
mentioned  volumes,  mine  are  explained  in  separate  chapters. 
Let  every  one  earn  the  merit  he  deserves.  Also,  those  who  add 
to  our  discoveries,  have  a  just  claim  to  every  idea  of  improve- 
ment, and  I  shall  always  be  disposed  to  acknowledge  it  with 
a  feeling  of  gratitude. 

V  Gall's  first  inquiries  were  physiognomical;  he  looked  for 
external  signs  of  internal  capacities.  They  were  generally 
styled  Dr.  GalFs  doctrine  of  brain  and  skull,  Gall's  Hirn-  und 
Schedellehre.  When  we  began  to  publish  in  1808,  under 
our  joint  names,  the  title.  Anatomy  and  Physiology  of  the 
nervous  system  in  general,  and  of  the  brain  in  particular, 
seemed  preferable  to  designate  the  nature  of  our  investiga- 
tions. In  extending  my  views,  I  found  it  necessary  to 
-  change  the  name  again.  I  have  chosen  that  of  phrei^'ot.ogy, 
.  which  is  derived  from  two  Greek  words :  ^p-^v  —  mind,  and 
XSyo? — discourse;  and  I  understand  by  it,  the  doctrine  of  the 
special  phenomena  of  the  mind,  and  of  the  relations  between 
the  mental  dispositions  and  the  body,  particularly  the  brain. 

Many,  at  the  outset,  ask  whether  this  doctrine  be  useful. 
It  is,  however,  necessary  to  begin  by  knowing  the  nature, 
reality,  and  extent  of  phrenological  principles,  before  we  can 
be  qualified  to  speak  of  their  application.  I  take  it  for 
granted,  that  every  kind  of  knowledge  is  useful,  or,  as  Lord 
Bacon  said,  knowledge  is  power.    I  only  add,  that  Phre- 


GENERAL  VIEW 


3T 


nology  concerns  the  most  important  element  in  the  nature  of 
man:  the  manifestations  of  his  affective  and  intellectual 
faculties.  Now,  we  examine  all  the  beings  which  surroimd 
us;  we  divide  and  subdivide  the  different  objects  which 
nature  presents  to  us :  we  study  mineralogy,  botany,  zoology ; 
why  should  we  not  study  man,  who  manifests  the  greatest  ^ 
number  of  faculties,  and  who  is  lord  of  the  terrestrial  crea-  7^ 
tion  ?  Man,  therefore,  considered  merely  as  the  most 
important  being  of  creation,  ought  especially  to  interest  every 
thinking  person.  Moreover,  it  must  be  surely  of  the  utmost 
importance  to  know  our  own  nature.  Among  the  Greeks  the 
divine  precept  written  upon  the  temple  of  Delphos  was  rvwdi 
csaurSv  — Ognow  thyself.  On  the  other  hand,  Phrenology,  by 
specifying  the  fundamental  powers  of  the  mind,  will  become 
the  basis  of  philosophy.  Farther,  our  interest  in  being 
acquainted  with  human  nature,  increases  in  proportion  as 
we  live  in  society,  and  as  we  feel  the  necessity  of  influencing 
those  we  would  direct.  It  is  also  evident,  that  institutions y 
which  are  not  founded  on  the  true  knowledge  of  mankind 
cannot  be  permanent.  Physicians  too,  must  be  aware  that 
moral  causes  frequently  derange  the  vegetative  functions; 
hence,  every  medical  man,  and  particularly  those  who  treat 
the  insane,  ought  to  be  acquainted  with  the  conditions 
requisite  to  the  mental  operations  in  the  healthy  state,  and 
Phrenology,  therefore,  is  an  indispensable  part  of  the  medical 
education.  Thus,  it  seems  impossible  to  point  out  any  object 
more  interesting  to  natural  philosophers,  anatomists,  physi- 
ologists, physicians,  teachers,  moralists,  and  legislators. 

I  do  not  pretend  that  the  study  of  man  has  been  neglected. 
On  the  contrary,  reflecting  people,  in  all  ages,  have  thought 
it  especially  worthy  of  their  attention.  They  have  noticed 
the  actions  of  the  most  remarkable  individuals,  as  well  as  of 
mankind  in  general ;  inquired  into  the  number  and  nature  of 
the  faculties  of  man ;  and  invented  many  systems  as  develope- 
ments  of  the  causes  of  human  action.  But  though  individuals 
of  almost  all  professions  have  endeavored  to  elucidate  human 
nature,  it  must  be  allowed  that  our  knowledge  of  the  subject 
is  still  extremely  defective;  and  when  we  consider,  that  so 


38 


PHRENOLOGY 


many  great  men  have  been  engaged  in  its  study,  we  are 
astonished  that  so  little  has  been  accomplished. 

It  would,  indeed,  be  difficult  to  imagine  this  slow  progress 
and  limited  improvement,  if  the  manifold  obstacles  to  scien- 
tific inquiries  in  general,  and  to  anatomy  and  physiology  in 
particular,  were  unknown.  Among  the  former,  we  may 
reckon  the  religious  respect  which  men  have  for  ancient 
opinions,  and  their  aversion  to  such  as  are  new ;  the  obligation 
and  the  ease  of  maintaining  accredited  opinions;  our  inapt- 
ness  to  think  for  ourselves ;  the  want  of  clearness  and  precision 
in  our  ideas,  and  in  the  signs  by  which  we  express  them ;  the 
mania  for  forming  systems  upon  a  few  solitary  facts  and 
hasty  conceptions;  the  jealousy,  the  envy,  the  falsifications 
of  opponents;  and  their  malice  in  drawing  dangerous  conse- 
quences from  the  most  innocent  statements. 

The  particular  causes  of  ignorance  in  mental  philosophy 
may  be  divided  into  natural  and  artificial.  Among  the 
natural,  the  most  important  is  the  difficulty  which  the 
examination  of  mankind  presents.  It  may  be  observed,  in 
general,  that  knowledge  is  less  advanced,  the  more  difficult 
the  object  of  examination.  It  is  easy  to  describe  minerals, 
their  volume,  figure,  weight,  density,  color,  and  other  physical 
qualities.  This  may  also  be  done  at  leisure.  Hence, 
mineralogy  is  eminently  advanced.  Inquiries  relating  to 
botany  and  zoology  are  more  difficult ;  and  these  sciences  are 
consequently  less  forward.  Tor  the  same  reason  we  are, 
even  as  to  plants  and  animals,  better  acquainted  with  their 
physical  qualities  than  with  their  vital  functions.  Anatomy, 
being  easier  than  physiology,  is  also  more  advanced.  We 
may  describe  and  make  drawings  of  animals  at  leisure;  we 
may  anatomize  and  preserve  them  with  ease;  but  it  is  more 
difficult  to  observe  facts  in  their  lives,  to  inquire  into  their 
instinctive  labors,  their  propensities,  and  their  particular 
faculties.  Of  the  many  books  which  treat  on  human  nature, 
anatomical  descriptions  form  the  greatest  portion.  In  anatomy 
the  parts,  in  physiology  the  functions,  most  easily  examined, 
are  also  the  best  known.  It  is  infinitely  easier  to  examine 
muscles  and  bones,  than  the  nervous  system ;  anatomical  and 


GENERAL  VIEW 


39 


physiological  knowledge  of  the  brain  and  nervous  system 
has,  therefore,  made  the  slowest  progress.  Till  our  days, 
the  external  forms  of  the  brain  and  its  parts  only  were 
known;  their  internal  structure  was  quite  overlooked;  and 
the  physiological  ideas  on  the  brain  and  nervous  system,  have 
been  but  a  succession  of  errors,  ever  conformable  to  the 
prevailing  philosophical  system  of  the  day. 

Besides  the  natural  difficulty  of  inquiring  into  the  causes 
of  the  functions,  there  are  many  artificial  obstacles.  The 
metaphysical  notions  of  the  schools  have  greatly  impeded 
improvements  in  psychology.  By  substituting  such  meta- 
physical opinions,  on  all  occasions  for  data,  which  the 
observation  of  nature  would  have  furnished,  physiologists, 
and  even  anatomists,  came  to  regard  these  opinions  as  sacred. 
The  schoolmen,  for  example,  say,  the  soul  is  simple,  and 
therefore  its  material  residence  must  be  simple  also,  and  all 
the  nerves  must  end  in  a  point;  in  other  words,  the  nerves 
can  have  only  one  origin,  because  each  individual  has  but  one 
soul.  Bonnet,  Haller,  and  others,  having  extended  its  seat 
to  the  whole  substance  of  the  brain,  were  contradicted  by  the 
metaphysicians,  who  did  not  reflect,  that  a  little  more  or  less 
room  could  not  enable  them  to  explain  the  nature  of  the  soul 
any  better ;  nor  that,  according  to  the  remark  of  Van  Swieten, 
Tiedemann,  and  others,  a  material  point,  in  which  all  ideas 
and  sensations  should  centre,  is  inconceivable,  in  consequence 
of  the  confusion  and  disorder  which  would  result  from  such 
an  arrangement.  It  appears,  indeed,  ridiculous,  that  the 
naturalist  should  be  guided  in  his  researches  and  inductions 
by  such  frivolous  speculations.  If  metaphysicians,  on  the 
contrary,  would  observe  facts  and  ascertain  the  conditions 
with  which  these  are  coupled, — on  which  they  depend, — their 
notions  would  never  be  at  variance  with  the  inferences  of 
anatomy  and  physiology ;  and  one  science  would  not  arrogate 
the  right  of  setting  bounds  to  the  progress  of  another.  The 
doctrine  of  a  single  origin  and  central  point  for  all  the  nerves, 
is  neither  true  nor  possible;  as  may  be  verified  by  examina- 
tion. If,  after  this,  the  metaphysician  cannot  comprehend 
the  unity  of  his  individual  consciousness,  I  ask  him,  if  he 


40 


PHRENOLOGY 


can  understand  how,  in  automatic  life,  such  different 
apparatus  concur  by  their  varied  functions  in  forming  one 
whole  ?  If  he  can  reconcile,  in  animal  life,  the  occurrence 
of  double  organs  with  unity  of  function  and  simplicity  of 
consciousness  ?  If  he  can  comprehend  any  single  power  in 
the  material  world. 

The  principal  artificial  impediment  to  the  improvement  of 
%  psychology  was  the  blamable  method  pursued  in  the  study  of 
human  nature.  All  phenomena  were  explained  by  the  imag- 
ination alone,  or  by  hypotheses.  There  exist,  even  at  the 
present  day,  philosophers  who  maintain  that  man  is  in 
nowise  subjected  to  the  laws  of  nature;  that  he  can  begin  a 
series  of  actions  independent  of  all  cause  and  motive,  and 
that  his  actions  admit  of  no  explanation.  According  to  these 
schoolmen,  man  is  separated  from  all  other  beings,  and  is 
considered  as  regulated  by  laws  peculiar  to  himself.  They 
^  attribute  all  his  operations  to  his  soul ;  several  of  them  even 
give  it  unbounded  power  over  the  body.  This  negligence,  in 
not  comparing  men  with  other  beings,  has  been  a  great 
obstacle  to  the  progress  of  psychology.  Moreover,  the  various 
branches  of  anthropology,  instead  of  being  studied  together 
are  cultivated  separately.  The  useful  example  of  the  Greek 
philosophers  is  neglected;  anatomy,  physiology,  medicine, 
philosophy,  education,  religion,  and  legislation,  instead  of 
being  studied  as  parts  of  a  harmonious  whole,  and  united 
so  as  to  exert  a  mutual  influence,  are  split  into  so  many 
particular  doctrines  or  sciences. 

Man  must  be  studied  as  a  being  of  creation ;  and  his  nature 
requires  the  same  method  of  examination  as  every  other 
natural  object — observation  and  induction.  To  what  profesr 
sion,  then,  does  the  study  of  human  nature  especially  belong  ? 
Many  persons  cannot  conceive  why  a  physician  should  be 
continually  speaking  of  the  knowledge  of  human  nature,  ^^o 
profession,  however,  is  more  interested  in,  and  none  affords 
better  opportunities  for,  its  examination.  The  particular 
province  of  the  physician  is,  indeed,  man  in  a  state  of  dis- 
ease; but  it  is  evident  that  knowledge  of  the  healthy  must 
/be  the  foundation  of  knowledge  of  the  diseased  state;  that 


GENERAL  VIEW 


41 


is,  pathology  must  be  based  upon  physiology.  Derangement 
of  the  functions  cannot  be  understood  if  we  are  not  acquainted 
with  their  regular  and  proper  actions.  Hence  all  physio- 
logical inquiries  are  most  intimately  connected  with  medicine. 

It  cannot  be  doubted  that,  considered  even  in  itself,  the 
most  important  part  of  man  is  the  nervous  system;  and 
traced  in  its  relations  with  other  parts  and  other  systems, 
inquiries  into  its  functions  must  also  be  more  important  the 
greater  the  influence  it  exerts  upon  every  operation  of  the 
animal  economy.  Now  in  man  and  the  more  perfect  animals, 
the  manifestations  of  all  the  functions  are  more  or  less  sub- 
ordinate to,  and  under  the  influence  of,  the  nervous  system. 
Those  of  digestion,  nutrition,  circulation,  respiration,  secre- 
tion, and  excretion,  are  deranged  or  annihilated  when  the 
nerves,  which  co-operate  in  their  performance,  are  com- 
pressed, wounded,  or  destroyed.  Chemical  changes,  as 
acidity  in  the  alimentary  canal  during  digestion,  are  the 
more  apt  to  happen  the  less  the  nervous  power  is  active.  The 
nerves  distributed  to  the  organs  of  sense  and  to  the  muscles, 
are  indispensable  to  the  performance  of  their  functions.  Im- 
pressions made  on  the  body  below  the  division  of  a  nerve  are 
no  longer  perceived,  and  the  principle  of  motion  cannot  now 
be  directed  towards  the  muscles  with  which  it  is  naturally 
connected.  We  shall  also  see,  that  besides  the  functions  of 
the  five  external  senses,  all  the  instincts,  propensities,  senti- 
ments and  intellectual  faculties,  all  affections  and  passions, 
and  all  the  characteristics  of  humanity,  are  made  manifest 
by  means  of  the  nervous  system  alone.  Hence  we  must 
acknowledge,  that  without  a  sound  physiology  of  the  nervous 
system  there  can  be  neither  psychology  nor  any  species  of 
philosophy ;  and  that  physicians,  in  determining  the  nervous 
functions,  render  the  greatest  service  to  philosophers, 
moralists,  teachers,  judges,  and  legislators. 

From  this  it  is  obvious,  that  physicians,  who  must  study 
the  influence  of  the  nervous  system,  are  especially  called  upon 
to  contribute  to  the  advancement  of  the  knowledge  of  man. 
The  exercise  of  no  profession,  indeed,  makes  the  necessity  of 
knowing  both  his  physical  and  his  moral  state  so  intimately 


42 


PHRENOLOGY 


felt  as  that  of  medicine,  in  consequence  of  the  influence  of 
affections  of  the  mind  upon  the  vital  functions.  Who  has 
not  observed,  that  grief,  jealousy,  envy,  hopeless  love,  and 
similar  painful  affections,  consume  the  principle  of  life? 
The  examination  of  the  nervous  system,  and  of  its  influence, 
further  interests  physicians  especially,  as  all  mental  aliena- 
tions have  their  primitive  cause  in  the  mediate  or  immediate 
derangement  of  a  part  or  of  the  whole  of  it.  In  pointing 
out  the  conditions  necessary  to  the  manifestations  of  the 
sentiments  and  intellectual  faculties  in  the  healthy  state,  we 
consequently  contribute  also  to  elucidate  mental  diseases ;  no 
one,  then,  is  more  interested  than  the  physician  in  discovering 
the  nature  of  man. 

Fortunately  no  class  of  men  is  better  prepared  than  physi- 
cians to  investigate  such  subjects  by  accessory  knowledge, 
and  by  the  study  of  nature  in  general;  nor  is  any  one  so 
frequently  and  so  seriously  admonished  by  nature  to  revise 
opinions,  to  forsake  hypothetical  reasoning,  and  to  follow  the 
simple  method  of  experience,  as  he  who  is  occupied  in  the 
treatment  of  disease.  'No  philosopher  has  such  ample  oppor- 
tunity of  being  intimately  convinc-ed,  that  all  our  knowledge 
ought  to  be  reduced  to  a  rational  mode  of  judging  from  experi- 
ment and  observation.  The  physician,  moreover,  is  placed 
in  circumstances  the  most  conducive  to  a  profound  and 
certain  knowledge  of  man.  No  one  has  such  facility  of 
^observing  men  at  all  times  and  in  all  situations,  when  liber- 
ated from,  when  incapable  of,  the  restraint  and  ceremony 
which  custom  and  convenience  impose.  He  alone  has  an 
opportunity  of  being,  during  the  night  or  the  day,  witness 
of  the  most  intimate  relations  and  the  most  secret  events  in 
families.  Both  the  good  and  the  bad,  when  sick,  conceal 
their  true  sentiments  with  difficulty,  and  who  does  not  desire 
the  friendship  and  the  confidence  of  the  man  whom  he  trusts 
with  his  own  life,  and  with  the  lives  of  his  wife  and  of  his 
children?  To  him,  supposed  to  know  all  that  belongs  to 
human  nature,  the  most  secret  thoughts  are  exposed,  frailties 
and  errors  acknowledged ;  his  judgment  is  guided  by  unre- 
sen^ed  trust  reposed.  There  is  consequently  no  profession 
J  more  entitled  to  study  mankind  than  the  medical. 


GENERAL  VIEW 


43 


Let  us  now  ask :  Whsit  is  the  nature  of  Man  ?  In  the 
present  state  of  our  knowledge,  it  is  impossible  to  give  an 
exact  definition  of  man.  Such  as  we  find  in  books,  include 
the  term  animal;  he  who  is  not  aware  that  man  is  an  animal 
in  many  respects,  or  has  many  organic  parts  and  numerous 
functions  in  common  with  animals,  is  little  advanced  in 
anthropology.  On  the  other  hand,  whoever  thinks  that  there 
is  no  essential  difference  between  man  and  animals  of  a 
superior  order,  is  also  far  from  having  an  accurate  knowledge 
of  human  nature.  There  is  no  direct  break  in  the  chain  of 
animated  beings;  and  all  are  linked  together  by  analogies. 
The  idea  of  a  regular  scale  and  an  uninterrupted  concatena- 
tion of  objects  is  obvious;  all  divisions  into  orders,  genera, 
species  and  families,  established  by  human  understanding, 
only  mark  the  particularities,  without  interrupting  the  rela- 
tions that  exist  among  the  beings  of  creation.  The  last  plant 
and  the  first  animal  have  a  great  number  of  like  qualities; 
just  as  plants  have  something  common  among  themselves,  and 
animals  with  each  other.  Man  possesses  many  powers  in 
common  with  animals,  and  it  is  reasonable  to  think  that  by 
others  he  is  brought  in  connexion  with  beings  of  a  superior 
order. 

The  difficulty  we  encounter  in  the  classification  of  living 
beings  generally,  is  also  perceptible  when  Ave  attempt  a  divi- 
sion of  the  functions  of  any  one  being.  Man  not  only 
exhibits  several  functions  analogous  to  those  both  of  the 
inanimate  and  organised  kingdom,  but  the  whole  of  those 
he  possesses  are  likewise  connected  so  intimately  that  they 
cannot  be  considered  separately.  Even  the  characteristic 
qualities  of  humanity  have  something  analogous  with  the 
powers  possessed  in  common  by  man  and  animals. 

All  who  have  studied  nature  in  general,  or  man  in  par- 
ticular, have  always  paid  the  greatest  attention  to  the  causes 
of  the  phenomena  they  observed.  They  are  divided  into 
two  classes:  Materialists  and  Spiritualists.  The  former 
looked  for  an  explanation  of  the  phenomena  in  various  com- 
binations of  constituent  elements,  or  in  the  mixture  and 
form  of  bodies ;  the  latter  attributed  all  phenomena  to  beings, 


44 


PHRENOLOGY 


principles,  entities,  substances,  spirits,  or  souls.  According 
to  then],  planets  and  coraets  are  moved,  plants  grow,  and 
animals  exhibit  their  functions  by  the  influence  of  souls. 
All  activity  is  a  consequence  of  the  agency  of  immaterial 
beings.  Inertness  and  form  are  the  essential  characters  of 
matter.  There  is  a  certain  number  of  elementary  matters, 
and  these  can  exist  either  singly  or  in  a  compound  state,  but 
in  every  case  without  inherent  activity. 

The  doctrine  of  the  souls,  or  psychology,  is  involved  in  the 
most  inextricable  difficulties.  ]^ow-a-days  matter  is  con- 
sidered as  active,  or  endowed  with  various  qualities,  and  as 
exercising  some  influence  on  the  universe.  Salt  is  soluble 
in  water;  the  quality  of  solubility  is  therefore  inherent  in 
salt,  though  this  may  be  latent,  till  brought  into  contact  with 
water.  Thus  matter  is  not  inert,  in  the  sense  that  it  has  no 
qualities,  but  these  may  be  dormant  or  inactive,  and  their 
exhibition  may  require  the  action  and  re-action  of  other 
substances. 

The  same  remarks  apply  to  organised  bodies,  or  those 
which  are  composed  of  different  matters,  and  arranged  in 
such  a  manner  as  qualifies  them  to  perform  certain  functions. 
They  are  endowed  with  dispositions,  but  these  remain  inert 
or  inactive  without  an  exciting  cause.  An  egg  proper  for 
incubation,  and  fruit  trees  in  the  winter  season,  possess 
vitality,  but  they  require  the  influence  of  caloric  to  show  it. 
Thus,  organised  beings,  though  composed  of  a  variety  of 
substances,  require  additional  exciting  substances;  which,  in 
ancient  times,  were  styled  immaterial  and  incorporeal,  or 
spirits,  as  being  without  form. 

The  doctrine  of  immaterial  substances  is  not  sufficiently 
amenable  to  the  test  of  observation ;  it  is  founded  on  belief, 
and  only  supported  by  hypothesis.  It  is  an  essential  item  in 
metaphysics.  Opinions  upon  such  points  must  vary  con- 
tinually, and  none  can  ever  gain  general  assent.  Those  which 
flatter  the  wishes  of  man  the  most,  and  astonish  and  promise 
the  greatest  advantages,  will  be  the  most  readily  and 
generally  believed. 

Many  ancient  spiritualists  admitted  two  souls,  one  irra- 


GENERAL  VIEW 


45 


tional  and  mortal,  another  rational  and  immortal.  Stahl 
and  bis  school  understand  by  the  term  soul,  a  being  that 
produces  all  the  phenomena  of  man,  as  well  the  vegetative 
as  the  animal  fimctions. 

The  majority  of  modem  spiritualists  define  the  soul,  a 
being  which  has  consciousness   and  will,  and  which  is  " 
immaterial  and  immortal. 

Modern  physiologists  examine  the  vegetative  functions  of 
animals  independently  of  the  soul;  they  speak  of  certain 
fluids,  called  by  the  ancients  spirits,  as  their  causes,  but  do 
not  agree  about  their  number.  Caloric  evidently  exists,  and 
is  essential  to  life.  The  influence  of  the  electric  fluid  is  also 
frequently  obvious.  Discussions  too  on  the  nervous  prin- 
ciple are  not  yet  terminated. 

The  doctrine  of  active  principles  becomes  particularly 
difiicult,  when  we  come  to  consider  the  affective  and  intel- 
lectual functions  of  man.  Eeligious  people  often  reject  all 
such  investigations,  and  stick  to  faith.  We,  however,  must 
be  permitted  to  regret,  that  the  religious  codes  of  neither 
Jews  nor  Christians  decide  on  the  number,  or  determine  the 
nature,  of  the  principles  which  act  in  man.  They  admit 
positively  an  immortal  agent,  but  do  not  deny  the  existence 
of  other  principles.  Is  it  true  that  the  body  has  its  own 
laws,  and  that  the  affective  and  intellectual  faculties  depend 
on  two  separate  principles;  may  we  therefore  speak  with 
St.  Paul  ^  of  the  body,  the  soul,  and  the  spirit  ? '  * 

Physiologists,  folloAving  the  opinons  of  metaphysical 
schools,  soon  thought  of  looking  for  corporeal  seats  or  habi- 
tations of  the  principles  or  souls.  Those  who  believed  in 
one  single  soul,  as  the  cause  of  all  the  phenomena  of  man, 
assigned  to  it  a  more  or  less  extensive  seat;  at  one  time  the 
whole  body,  and  again  no  more  than  a  single  point.  Aristotle 
placed  the  sentient  soul  in  the  heart,  Erasistratus  in  the 
membranes,  Herophilus  in  the  great  cavities  of  the  brain, 
Serveto  in  the  acqueduct  of  sylvius.  Aura n tins  in  the  fourth 
ventricle,  Descartes  in  the  pineal  gland,  V^Tiaton  and  Schell- 


*  1  Thess.  V.  23. 


46 


PHRENOLOGY 


hammer  in  the  commencement  of  the  spinal  marrow,  Drelin- 
conrt  in  the  cerebellum,  Bontekoe,  Lancisi,  and  La  Pejronnie 
in  the  corpus  callosum;  Willis  in  the  corpora  striata, 
Vieussens  in  the  centrum  ovale  of  the  medullary  substance, 
and  so  on. 

Metaphysicians  also  endeavored  to  explain  the  influence 
between  the  soul  and  body  mutually ;  and  they  broached  the 
most  extravagant  opinions  upon  this  point.  Some  authors, 
with  Malebranche,  consider  God  as  the  immediate  agent 
between  the  soul  and  the  body:  others  explain  the  mutual 
influence  of  the  mind  and  body  by  the  agency  of  some 
medium  or  middle  substance;  and  hence  the  great  number 
of  vapors,  fluids,  pneumata,  and  vital  spirits;  hence  the 
introduction  of  caloric  and  the  electric,  galvanic,  and 
magnetic  fluids. 

Inquiries  into  the  nature  of  the  soul,  its  origin,  seat,  mode 
of  action  on  the  body,  and  final  destination,  belong  exclusively 
to  metaphysicians  and  theologians;  they  are  beyond  the 
province  of  the  physiologist.  Both  Gall  and  I,  therefore, 
have  always  declared,  that  we  merely  observe  the  affective 
and  intellectual  manifestations,  and  the  organic  conditions 
under  which  they  take  place;  and  that  in  using  the  word 
organs,  we  mean  only  the  organic  parts  by  means  of  which 
the  faculties  of  the  mind  become  apparent,  but  not  that  these 
constitute  them. 

The  functions  of  man  may  be  divided  into  three  classes: 
vegetative,  affective,  and  intellectual.  The  vegetative  are 
destined  to  preserve  the  individual,  and  to  continue  the 
species.  The  affective  and  intellectual  are  the  real  objects 
of  Phrenology,  and  of  this  volume,  which  will  be  divided  into 
nine  sections.  In  the  first,  I  shall  speak  of  sensibility  in 
general;  in  the  second,  of  the  relation  between  the  affective 
and  intellectual  manifestations  of  the  mind  and  the  bodily 
constitution  or  the  temperaments,  and  the  viscera  of  the 
abdomen  and  thorax ;  in  the  third,  of  the  dependency  of  the 
affective  and  intellectual  faculties  on  the  brain ;  in  the  fourth, 
of  the  necessity  of  dividing  the  faculties  of  the  mind,  and  of 
admitting  the  plurality  of  the  respective  organs;  the  fifth 


ON  SENSIBILITY 


47 


section  will  treat  of  the  means  of  determining  the  functions 
of  the  cerebral  parts;  the  sixth,  of  craniologj;  the  seventh, 
of  the  division  of  the  fundamental  powers;  the  eighth,  of 
the  affective  qualities  and  their  organs;  and  the  ninth,  of 
the  intellectual  faculties  and  their  organs, 


SECTION  I. 

On  Sensibility. 

This  expression  has  not  always  the  same  meaning.  It  is 
often  confounded  with  irritability.  Sensibility,  then,  indi- 
cates the  power  of  acting  in  a  regular  way,  according  to 
previous  impressions.  It  is  in  this  sense  that  we  speak  of 
sensible  or  sensitive  plants;  and  that  the  sensibility  of  ani- 
mals is  divided  into  two  sorts:  one  organic,  and  another 
animal;  the  first,  or  organic,  taking  place  without,  and  the 
second,  or  animal,  existing  with,  consciousness.  Descartes, 
Stahl,  Cabanis,  Bichat,  Cuvier,  Blumenbach,  Keil,  and 
others,  admit  sensibility  without  consciousness.  I  limit  the 
sense  of  the  word,  and  employ  it  only  to  indicate  the  power 
of  perceiving  and  of  knowing  impressions  made  on  the 
nerves. 

As  I  make  a  distinction  between  irritability  and  sensibility, 
so  I  also  separate  consciousness  and  sensibility  from  volun- 
tary functions.  Sensibility  is  frequently  opposed  to  the 
involuntary  or  automatic  functions;  but  in  that  sense,  by 
far  the  greater  number  of  the  affective  and  intellectual 
functions  are  automatic. 

l^ow  the  seat  of  Sensibility  may  be  demanded.  The 
greater  number  of  physiologists  consider  the  brain,  without 
the  spinal  marrow  and  the  nerves  of  the  five  external  senses, 
as  the  organ  of  all  consciousness,  and  in  support  of  this 
opinion  adduce  the  following  proofs.  A  nerve  that  is  di- 
vided cannot  produce  either  sensation  or  voluntary  motion, 
however  irritated.  Hence,  the  sentient  principle  does  not 
reside  in  the  nerves,  nor  at  the  place  where  the  impression 


48 


PHRENOLOGY 


is  made,  but  in  the  brain.  If  a  nerve  at  its  origin  or  in  its 
course  be  compressed  or  tied,  its  function  is  suspended,  but 
if  the  pressure  be  removed,  it  returns.  Hence,  the  conscious- 
ness of  all  impressions  must  reside  in  the  brain.  When 
the  brain  is  compressed  by  a  fluid,  by  an  excrescence,  by 
turgid  blood-vessels,  or  suffers  a  violent  concussion,  all  sensa- 
tion is  interrupted,  and  is  only  restored  as  the  compression 
goes  on  diminishing  or  is  entirely  removed.  In  convulsive 
fits,  pains  are  sometimes  felt  as  if  ascending  along  the  nerves 
to  the  brain.  These  pains  are  often  cured  by  dividing  or  by 
tying  the  nerves.  After  the  amputation  of  a  limb,  indi- 
viduals, though  perfectly  cured,  often  fancy  that  they  feel 
pain  in  the  fingers,  toes,  or  other  parts  of  the  amputated 
limb.  This  pain  can  only  have  its  seat  in  the  brain.  Finally, 
volition  comes  from  the  brain;  consequently,  the  first  cause 
of  voluntary  motion  resides  in  it.  The  opinion  that  all 
consciousness  resides  in  the  brain  was  formerly  supported  by 
the  assertion  that  the  nerves  are  continuations  of  its  sub- 
stance, and  that  they  have  a  central  point  of  union  in  it. 
This  argument,  however,  can  no  longer  be  received,  as  it  is 
certain  that  neither  the  nerves  of  the  external  senses,  nor 
the  spinal  marrow,  are  prolongations  of  the  cerebral  mass; 
and  that  no  such  central  point  exists;  but  that  every  pair 
of  nerves  has  its  own  origin,  and  that  the  different  systems 
are  brought  into  communication  by  nervous  bundles,  and 
through  this  medium  exert  a  mutual  influence. 

OBJECTIOI^'S. 

On  the  other  hand,  arguments  of  different  degrees  of 
validity  may  be  employed  to  prove  that  the  brain  is  not 
exclusively  the  organ  of  sensation  and  of  voluntary  motion. 
Dumas  thinks,  that  those  who  having  lost  a  limb  imagine 
they  feel  a  pain  in  it,  do  so  by  their  power  of  recollection. 
If  that  be  the  case,  Dumas  ought  to  prove  that  the  power  of 
recollection  is  different  from  that  of  consciousness,  before 
he  can  conclude  that  that  power  may  exist  in  the  brain  and 
consciousness  everywhere.  Besides,  why  is  it  absolutely  im- 
possible to  produce  equal  degrees  of  other  agreeable  or  dis- 


ON  SENSIBILITY 


49 


agreeable  sensations  by  means  of  the  power  of  recollection  ? 
Moreover,  after  amputations,  why  are  pains  particularly 
excited  by  wet,  stormy  and  changeable  weather  ?  The  asser- 
tion of  Dumas  is  therefore  far  from  refuting  the  positive 
proofs,  that  all  consciousness  belongs  to  the  brain. 

The  same  physiologist  thinks  that  the  brain  can  neither 
be  the  seat  nor  the  organ  of  sensation,  because  it  is  insensible. 
It  is  true  that  the  convolutions  of  the  brain,  when  wounded 
or  mutilated,  do  not  produce  such  pains  as  the  nerves  of 
feeling  when  they  are  injured.  Yet,  in  certain  diseases,  the 
brain  becomes  very  painful,  just  as  happens  with  other  parts 
which  manifest  little  or  no  sensibility  in  the  healthy  state. 
Besides,  no  one  says  that  pains  felt  in  his  limbs  exist  in  the 
brain.  They  exist  in  the  part  where  the  impressions  are 
made;  and  consciousness  alone  exists  in  the  brain.  More- 
over, we  must  remember  that  the  sensations  of  different  parts 
are  quite  dissimilar,  and  that  although  one  part  does  not 
produce  the  sensation  of  another,  it  cannot  on  that  account 
be  called  insensible.  The  nerves  of  hunger  and  thirst  cannot 
perceive  the  sensation  of  pride  or  compassion;  the  olfactory 
nerve  cannot  perceive  the  impressions  of  light,  &c.,  but  every 
particular  sensation  appertains  to  a  particular  organic 
structure.  'Now,  thinking  and  willing,  are  certainly  sensa- 
tions, and  no  one  can,  or  will,  deny  that  these  two  functions 
are  confined  to  the  brain ;  it  can  only  be  said,  therefore,  that 
the  brain  does  not  manifest  all  sorts  of  sensation.  The 
assertion,  however,  that  all  consciousness  resides  in  the  brain, 
is  not  yet  refuted,  and  it  may  still  be  maintained  that  the 
nerves  produce  the  impressions,  whilst  the  brain  is  necessary 
to  perceive,  or  have  consciousness  of  them. 

It  is  also  objected  that  acephali,  entirely  destitute  of 
brain,  sometimes  live,  suck,  and  move,  in  various  ways ;  and, 
consequently,  that  the  brain  cannot  be  the  only  organ  of 
sensation.  In  this  objection,  automatic  motions  are  evi- 
dently confounded  with  consciousness,  in  the  same  way  as 
Gautier  says,  that  a  beheaded  cock  fluttering  in  the  agonies 
of  death,  struggles  to  fight  and  defend  itself.  All  similar 
phenomena,  which  may  be  observed  in  insects,  fishes,  reptiles, 

4 


50 


PHRENOLOGY 


birds,  quadrupeds,  and  even  in  man,  are  the  result  of  irri- 
tability without  consciousness.  Such  motions,  only  seem  to 
be  accompanied  with  sensation  and  will,  because  the  organic 
structure  and  mechanical  arrangement  of  the  parts,  cause 
the  motions  to  be  produced  precisely  as  they  would,  were 
they  determined  by  the  will,  and  took  place  with  conscious- 
ness. There  are  many  phenomena  which  happen  according 
to  determinate  laws,  without  consciousness,  reflection,  or  will ; 
and  muscular  motions  may  be  the  same,  whether  they  occur 
as  effects  of  the  will,  or  of  any  other  irritating  cause.  During 
sleep  and  before  birth,  automatic  motions  exist  in  sufficient 
perfection,  while  the  animal  functions  are  still  inactive. 

It  is  not  even  determined,  whether  the  crying  and  sucking 
of  the  infant  are  always  accompanied  by  consciousness,  or, 
whether  these  phenomena  belong  to  automatic  life.  It  seems 
to  me  that  they  are  sometimes  automatic,  and  at  other  times 
animal,  just  as  motions  in  general  are.  It  must  therefore 
be  allowed,  that  certain  parts  of  the  body  produce  automatic 
motions  only;  and  that  other  parts,  subject  to  the  will,  are 
capable  of  producing  motions,  which  are  not  the  result  of  its 
activity,  but  conformable  to  their  structure. 

Duvemey  is  said  to  have  removed  the  brain  entirely  from 
some  pigeons,  which,  notwithstanding,  continued  to  exhibit 
all  the  animal  functions.  Similar  experiments  on  turtles  are 
mentioned  by  several  authors,  whose  knowledge  of  the  facts, 
however,  has  been  derived  merely  from  hearsay.  We  are 
quite  sure  that  the  whole  brain  cannot  be  removed  without 
destroying  at  once  the  nerves  of  the  external  senses,  and  the 
animals  themselves.  It  is  even  generally  known,  that  sports- 
men kill  wounded  birds  by  pushing  a  feather  into  their  neck. 
In  order  to  ascertain  the  extent  to  which  these  reported 
experiments  of  Duvemey  were  true,  I,  myself,  cut  off  the 
greatest  portion  of  the  hemispheres  of  the  brain  of  fowls,  and 
.  pigeons,  even  the  great  commissure  of  rabbits  to  the  level  of 
the  lateral  ventricles ;  and  the  animals  manifested  distinctly 
their  senses  of  seeing  and  hearing.  They  did  not  take  the 
food  presented  to  them,  but  they  swallowed  bread  and  seed 
put  into  their  bills.     Kabbits  mutilated  in  that  manner, 


ON  SENSIBILITY 


51 


walked,  saw,  and  heard ;  they  even  took  food  spontaneously. 
It  is  evident,  therefore,  that  the  removal  of  all  the  superior 
parts  of  the  brain  neither  destroys  the  functions  of  the  five 
senses,  nor  the  muscular  motions.  But  it  is  impossible  to 
take  away  the  whole  cerebral  mass  without  killing  the 
animals.  Hence,  Gall,  and  I,  declare,  that  the  experiments 
made  by  Duverney  must  be  entirely  false;  and  we  have 
shown,  that  all  that  can  be  concluded  from  similar  ones,  is, 
that  the  whole  brain  is  not  necessary  to  the  functions  of  the  ^ 
five  senses ;  but  still,  the  conclusion  by  no  means  follows,  that 
no  cerebral  part  is  absolutely  necessary  to  their  functions; 
seeing,  that  in  animals  of  a  higher  order,  it  is  impossible  to 
separate  the  brain  from  the  nerves  without  depriving  them 
of  sense  and  life  at  once. 

There  are  other  arguments  which  give  reason  to  suppose 
that  the  external  senses  have  perception.  There  are  animals 
to  which  it  is  impossible  to  deny  feeling  and  taste,  although 
they  present  nothing  which  may  be  compared  to  the  brain. 
E'ow,  every  nerve  destined  to  a  particular  function  has  its 
own  origin,  its  gi-adual  enlargement,  its  particular  form, 
and  is  a  whole  in  respect  to  its  structure ;  why  relatively  to  its 
function  should  it  not  also  be  a  whole?  The  functions  of 
the  nervous  systems  of  the  five  senses,  are  in  proportion  to 
the  perfection  of  their  particular  organizations,  and  by  no 
means  to  the  quantity  of  brain.  Several  insects,  notwith- 
standing the  extreme  smallness  of  their  brain,  are  endowed 
with  an  extraordinary  fine  feeling,  taste,  and  smell.  Eagles, 
though  possessing  much  less  brain,  see  farther  than  dogs; 
and  the  smell  of  the  canine  tribes,  generally,  is  more  acute 
than  that  of  man,  whose  brain  is  so  much  more  considerable. 
But  all  these  facts  do  not  prove  that  consciousness  resides  in 
the  nerves.  Voluntary  motion  is  proportionate  to  the  size 
and  organic  constitution  of  the  muscles,  the  exciting  cause 
however,  called  will,  resides  in  the  brain. 

It  has  likewise  been  observed,  that  w^hen  the  internal  or- 
ganization of  a  sense,  as  well  as  its  external  apparatus,  is 
destroyed,  all  ideas  belonging  to  it  are  lost,  or  annihilated. 
It  must,  however,  be  granted,  that  even  these  arguments  do 


PHRENOLOGY 


not  suffice  to  explain,  why,  among  perfect  animals,  the  nerves 
which  are  pressed,  tied,  or  divided,  lose  sensation.  Perhaps, 
in  them,  some  parts  of  the  brain  are  as  necessary  to  conscious- 
ness, as  the  heart  is  to  the  circulation  of  the  blood;  while  in 
lower  tribes,  a  kind  of  obscure  consciousness  may  exist,  inde- 
pendent of  the  brain,  just  as  among  them,  and  also  among 
plants,  circulation  goes  on  without  a  heart. 

After  all,  it  remains  undecided,  at  least  as  far  as  animals 
of  the  superior  orders  are  concerned,  how  far  the  brain  is 
necessary  to  the  passive  consciousness  of  the  external  senses. 
But  it  is  certain  that  the  will,  and  consequently  the  voluntary 
motions  and  reflection,  depend  on  the  brain;  for  none  of 
these  phenomena  are  displayed  without  it.  The  regular 
motions  are,  therefore,  to  be  distinguished  into  such  as  are 
regular,  but  only  automatic,  and  into  such  as  are  both  regular 
and  voluntary;  the  latter  depend  on  the  action  of  the  brain, 
the  former  take  place  without  it.  It  is  also  necessary  to 
make  distinctions  respecting  the  functions  of  the  five  external 
senses;  we  are  ignorant  whether  their  passive  consciousness 
exists  with  the  presence  of  their  respective  nerves  alone,  or 
in  consequence  of  the  addition  of  the  brain ;  this,  however,  is 
certain,  that  their  active  consciousness,  accompanied  with 
attention,  reflection,  and  will,  can  only  coexist  with  the  brain. 


SECTION  II. 

Do  the  Manifestations  of  the  Mind  depend  on  the  Organic 
Constitution  of  the  whole  Body,  o(r  do  the  Feelings  more 
especially  reside  in  the  Viscera? 

Many  physiologists  and  philosophers  dwell  particularly 
on  unity,  both  in  organic  and  inorganic  nature.  They  main- 
tain that  the  whole  contributes  to  the  performance  of  every 
function,  and  that  no  part  can  do  aught  in  an  isolated  state. 
This  manner  of  speaking  is  not  sufficiently  precise.  It  is 
indeed  true,  that  no  part  can  perform  its  function  if  its 
organization  be  not  healthy :  the  eyes  must  be  perfect,  other- 


MANIFESTATIONS  OF  THE  MIND 


53 


wise  they  cannot  see,  &c.  All  the  parts,  therefore,  which 
are  concerned  in  the  reproduction  and  nutrition  of  the  organs, 
contribute,  mediately,  to  the  display  of  every  function; 
peculiar  functions,  however,  are  performed  by  peculiar 
organs. 

In  the  same  manner,  the  greater  number  of  modem  philoso- 
phers and  physiologists,  conceive  the  possibility  of  reducing 
the  whole  of  the  mental  phenomena  to  understanding  or 
intelligence.  The  ancients  thought  differently;  they  spoke 
of  two  sorts  of  operations,  under  the  title  of  soul  and  spirit, 
moral  and  intellectual  faculties,  heart  and  head,  feelings  and 
thoughts,  &c.  This  nomenclature,  however  defective,  proves 
that  the  phrenic  functions  were  early  divided  into  two  classes. 
Different  parts  of  the  body  were  even  assigned  as  their  seats ; 
the  feelings  being  supposed  resident  in  the  viscera  of  the 
thorax  and  abdomen,  particularly  in  the  heart,  and  the 
intellect  in  the  head. 

To  confound  the  feeling  with  understanding,  is  a  very 
grievous  error,  which  must  retard  the  knowledge  of  man; 
it  seems  to  have  arisen  from  the  simultaneous  action  of  the 
affective  and  intellectual  faculties.  This,  however,  also  hap- 
pens with  the  two  sorts  of  the  vegetative  functions;  those 
which  preserve  the  individual,  go  on  whilst  the  species  is 
propagated ;  yet  these  two  cannot  be  confounded. 

All  philosophers  have  agreed  to  separate  intellect  from  the 
vegetative  functions;  the  reasons  for  doing  so,  also  prove 
the  difference  between  the  affective  and  intellectual  faculties. 
I  assume  every  one  as  conscious  of  his  existence,  of  his  intel- 
lect, and  of  his  feelings.  Personal  conviction,  therefore,  is 
the  same,  both  as  regards  the  feelings  and  intellect.  But,  how 
can  we  know  that  others  are  endowed  with  the  affective 
powers  ?  In  the  same  way  as  we  know  that  they  possess  in- 
tellect; by  observation  and  induction  in  the  healthy  and  dis- 
eased state.  I  think  it  superfluous  to  give  more  details  on 
these  points,  or  to  enter  very  deeply  into  speculative  reason- 
ings, since  the  purport  of  this  volume  is  to  analyze  the 
special  powers  of  the  mind,  and  to  show  their  respective 


54 


PHRENOLOGY 


organs.  From  the  title  of  this  section,  it  is  evident  that  it 
embraces  two  sorts  of  considerations,  which  I  shall  elucidate 
in  succession. 


CHAPTER  I. 

On  Temperaments. 

The  ancient  philosophers,  in  recognising  the  influence  of 
the  body  over  the  manifestations  of  the  mind,  dwelt  much 
^on  the  importance  of  the  temperaments.  This  expression 
has  not  always  had  the  same  meaning.  Those  who  regarded 
mixtures  of  elements,  and  bodily  constitution,  as  primary  or 
secondary  causes  of  the  mental  operations,  employed  the 
term  temperament,  sometimes  to  indicate  the  bodily  constitu- 
tion, and  sometimes  to  designate  the  mental  functions. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  the  individual  corporeal  systems, 
such  as  the  circulatory,  secretory,  nervous,  and  others,  influ- 
ence the  whole  body,  modify  its  functions,  and  endow  them 
with  greater  or  less  activity.  But  they  are  mistaken,  who 
imagine  that  the  general  organic  constitution  is  the  cause  of 
particular  feelings  and  intellectual  faculties;  for  instance, 
that  individuals  of  a  sanguine  temperament  have  an  easy 
conception,  a  lively  imagination,  and  a  strong  memory,  and 
are  addicted  to  sensual  pleasures  and  levity;  or  who  fancy 
that  the  bilious  temperament  is  the  cause  of  penetration,  firm- 
ness, obstinacy,  of  concealment,  ambition,  of  violent  passions, 
&c. 

This  error  is  very  easily  refuted:  Eirst,  all  animals  are 
neglected  in  the  doctrine  of  temperaments.  How  can  their 
widely  varied  and  dissimilar  faculties  be  explained  by  the 
small  number  of  temperaments  or  their  combinations  ? 
V  Idiots,  too,  have  certainly  some  temperament;  w^hy  do  they 
not  exert  the  faculties  said  to  pertain  to  it  ?  Moreover,  daily 
experience  shows  that  there  is  no  fixed  and  constant  propor- 
tion between  temperaments  and  determinate  mental  faculties. 
There  are  many,  who,  with  a  melancholy  look,  are  not  at  all 
melancholy ;  we  find  sanguine  and  bilious  people,  intellectual 


ON  TEMPERAMENTS 


55 


or  stupid,  meek  or  impetuous;  whilst  phlegmatics  are  often 
bold,  quarrelsome,  and  imperious;  in  many  diseases,  also, 
the  humors  and  organic  constitution  of  the  body  are  much 
altered,  but  the  faculties  of  the  mind  do  not  suffer  a  propor- 
tionate change.  In  short,  the  doctrine  of  the  temperaments, 
as  applied  to  the  indication  of  determinate  faculties,  is  not 
more  sure,  nor  better  founded,  than  divination  by  the  hands, 
feet,  skin,  hair,  or  ears. 

We,  however,  do  not  deny  the  influence  of  the  organic 
constitution  upon  the  manifestation  of  the  feelings  and 
intellectual  faculties.  We  readily  conceive  how  the  organic 
constitution  of  the  brain  may  be  modified  by  digestion,  cir- 
culation, perspiration,  and  nutrition,  and  how  the  different 
states  of  organization  may  produce  different  degrees  of 
activity  of  the  mental  faculties  generally ;  but  it  is  impossible 
to  show  that  the  same  temperament  should  bestow  great 
energy  on  some  faculties,  and  strong  peculiar  passions,  while 
the  manifestations  of  others  remain  very  weak.  Thus,  to 
derive  deterrainate  faculties  and  positive  propensities  from 
the  temperaments,  is  very  different  from  saying  that  the 
faculties  of  the  mind  are  modified  in  quantity  and  quality 
by  bodily  constitution  in  general,  and  by  that  of  the  re- 
spective organs  in  particular.  We  consider  the  study  of 
temperaments  as  the  first  step  in  phrenology.  There  are 
some  individuals  more  irritable,  more  energetic,  more  fit  to 
be  exercised,  and  more  able  to  contain  their  mental  exercises 
than  others;  but  the  organic  constitution  of  the  whole  body 
is  not  the  condition  on  which  the  manifestations  of  the  special 
feelings  and  intellectual  faculties  depend.  In  my  work  on 
characters  I  speak  of  four  temperaments,  as  of  four  different 
degrees  of  activity.  I  describe  their  external  signs  and 
exemplify  each  temperament  by  a  portrait. 


56 


PHRENOLOGY 


CHAPTER  II. 

Do  the  Feelings  depend  on  the  Viscera  of  the  Abdomen 
and  Thorax? 

A  GREAT  number  of  physiologists,  physicians  and  philoso- 
phers, derive  the  propensities  and  sentiments  from  different 
viscera  of  the  chest  and  belly,  or  from  the  nervous  plexuses 
and  ganglions  of  the  great  sympathetic  nerve.  Comparative 
^natomy  and  physiology  suffice  to  confute  this  opinion.  There 
are  animals  endowed  with  faculties  attributed  to  certain 
viscera,  which,  however,  do  not  possess  these  viscera.  Insects, 
for  instance,  become  angry,  and  have  neither  liver  nor  bile. 
The  ox,  horse,  hog,  &;c.,  have  a  great  number  of  viscera 
analogous  to  those  of  the  human  kind,  and  yet  want  many 
of  the  faculties  possessed  by  man,  and  attributed  to  these 
viscera.  There  is  no  proportion,  either  in  animals  or  in 
man,  between  the  size  of  the  viscera  or  of  the  ganglia  of  the 
nen'^ous  system,  and  the  strength  of  the  moral  sentiments 
ascribed  to  them.  Several  viscera,  nervous  plexuses,  and 
ganglions,  are  likewise  larger  in  animals  than  in  man,  and 
yet  the  attributed  qualities  are  more  energetic  in  man.  There 
is  no  proportion  between  the  number  of  viscera  and  the  nature 
of  the  propensities  and  sentiments  in  different  animals.  The 
four-footed  beasts  have  viscera  and  nervous  ganglia  very 
much  alike;  as  the  dog,  wild  boar,  ox,  horse,  sheep,  beaver, 
hare,  roe,  wolf,  tiger,  lion,  &;c. ;  yet  their  inclinations  are 
universally  different,  and  even  opposite,  whilst,  according  to 
the  above  stated  hypothesis,  the  heart  of  the  tiger  ought  to 
be  the  organ  of  cruelty,  and  that  of  the  lamb  of  meekness, 
l^either  is  there  any  proportion  between  the  period  of  the 
developement  of  the  viscera  and  the  appearance  of  the  pro- 
pensities and  sentiments;  in  young  animals  and  in  children 
several  viscera  are  sooner  developed  than  the  inclinations 
ascribed  to  them  are  manifested;  at  least,  they  are  not  ex- 
hibited in  the  ratio  of  the  developement.  It  is  therefore 
astonishing  that  Bichat  should  have  derived  all  passions  from 
organic  life,  as  he  believed  that  organic  life  Avas  perfect  in 
new-bom  children,  and  yet  that  children  have  no  passions. 


VISCERA 


57 


Those  who,  with  Reil,  maintain  that  the  nervous  plexuses 
and  ganglia  are  the  organs  of  the  affections  and  passions, 
and  who  say  that  these  apparatus  are  destined  to  weaken 
or  interrupt  the  propagation  of  internal  impressions  to  the 
brain,  are  guilty  of  a  similar  inconsistency;  for  affections 
and  passions  make  powerful  impressions  which  reach  the 
brain,  and  are  felt  both  by  animals  and  man.  Moreover,  it 
is  a  principle  in  the  animal  economy,  that  every  organic  part 
manifests  only  one  'particular  function.  ISTow  each  viscus  has 
its  appropriate  office,  which  is  even  generally  known,  and 
seen  to  harmonize  with  its  structure. 

Confining  our  view  to  the  human  species,  we  may  add, 
that  acephali  and  complete  idiots  have  viscera  and  ganglia, 
and  often  a  very  energetic  assimilating  power,  and  yet  mani- 
fest no  moral  sentiment.  Finally,  the  moral  sentiments  are 
not  deranged  in  proportion  as  the  viscera  are  diseased.  From 
all  these  considerations,  we  infer  that  the  viscera  of  the  chest 
and  abdomen,  are  not  the  organs  of  the  affective  powers  of 
the  mind. 

Some  reply  that  man,  when  affected  in  any  way,  when 
influenced  by  passion,  as  anger,  jealousy,  or  fear,  feels  evi- 
dently some  motion  in  the  viscera,  and  that  it  is  therefore 
natural  to  suppose  these  affections  resident  in  the  bowels.  It 
may,  however,  be  answered,  generally,  that  from  sensations 
experienced,  or  other  phenomena  exhibited  by  different  parts 
of  the  body,  it  is  impossible  to  infer  that  the  primitive  causes 
are  inherent  there.  Every  part  communicates  with,  and 
exercises  an  influence  upon,  every  other.  In  this  way,  the 
great  sympathetic  or  nerve  of  the  abdomen  and  thorax,  is 
connected  with  the  spinal  marrow,  with  the  nerves  of  the 
external  senses,  and  with  the  brain.  Without  this  connexion, 
animal  life  would  be  confined  to  the  brain,  and  this  organ 
could  not  excite  the  instrument  of  motion.  The  activity  of 
one  part  commonly  produces  different  phenomena  in  others ; 
and  as  the  existence  of  pain  and  pleasure  does  not  demonstrate 
consciousness  of  these  impressions  resident  at  the  place  where 
they  are  felt,  so,  peculiar  sensations  experienced  in  the  thorax 
and  abdomen  do  not  demonstrate  that  the  affections  have  their 


58 


PHRENOLOGY 


seat  in  the  included  viscera  of  these  cavities.  Sorrow  makes 
the  tears  flow,  anger  makes  the  knees  tremble  and  the  lips 
quiver;  but  who  asserts  that  sorrow  resides  in  the  lachrymal 
gland,  or  anger  in  the  knees  and  lips  ?  Wounds  of  the  brain 
excite  vomiting:  the  primitive  cause  of  this  phenomenon  is 
in  the  brain ;  but  no  one  will  place  the  vomiting  there.  Indi- 
gestible aliments  occasion  headache;  and  intestinal  worms, 
narcotics,  and  other  poisonous  substances,  sometimes  produce 
madness,  blindness,  &c. ;  but  who  from  this  will  maintain 
that  headache,  madness,  blindness,  &c.,  have  their  seat  in 
the  alimentary  canal  ?  The  remembrance  of  an  injury  re- 
ceived acts  upon  the  heart,  and  increases  the  strength  and 
frequency  of  its  beats ;  but  is  the  brain,  therefore,  the  organ 
of  circulation  ?  From  these  and  similar  considerations,  it 
follows  that  the  sensations  produced  in  different  parts  by 
affections  and  passions  do  not  entitle  us  to  infer  that  these 
are  their  respective  organs. 

All  that  has  been  said  to  prove  that  the  abdominal  and 
thoracic  viscera  are  not  the  organs  of  the  moral  sentiments, 
applies  also  to  the  nervous  plexuses  and  ganglia  of  the 
abdomen  and  thorax.  These  nervous  systems  are  essentially 
necessary  to  the  performance  of  the  functions  of  vegetative 
life. 

The  influence,  then,  of  the  abdominal  and  thoracic  viscera 
on  the  manifestations  of  the  mind  is  only  mediate;  their 
functions  contribute  to  the  organic  constitution  of  the  brain 
as  well  as  of  the  body  in  general,  but  they  are  not  the  seat  of 
the  affective  faculties. 


SECTION  III. 

The  Brain  is  the  Organ  of  the  Affective  and  Intellectual 
Functions. 

For  many  centuries  the  brain  has  been  said  to  be  the 
organ  of  the  soul;  and  hence  some  may  think  it  superfluous 
to  enter  into  any  detailed  argument  to  support  this  truth. 
However,  there  still  exist  many  doubts  to  be  solved,  many 


4 


FUNCTIONS  OF  THE  BRAIN 


59 


difficulties  to  be  removed,  and  many  notions  to  be  fixed  with 
more  precision.  The  repetition  of  passing  and  contradictory 
opinions  is  very  different  from  accurate  knowledge  of  a 
subject  in  all  its  details. 

If,  according  to  the  ancient  philosophers,  the  intellectual 
faculties  be  placed  in  the  brain,  and  the  moral  sentiments  in 
the  viscera  of  the  abdomen  and  thorax,  that  the  understand- 
ing might  not  be  disturbed  by  the  passions; — if  it  be  said 
that  the  nervous  plexuses  or  ganglia  are  the  seats  of  the  affec- 
tions;— if,  according  to  Dumas,  Richerand,  Sprengel,  and 
other  physiologists,  the  difference  of  the  feelings  and  intel- 
lectual faculties  results  from  the  difference  of  the  tempera- 
ments ; — ^if  Pinel  and  others  do  not  dare  to  seek  in  the  brain 
for  the  proximate  causes  of  mental  alienations; — if  Bichat 
consider  the  hemispheres  of  the  brain  as  mere  coverings  of 
the  internal  parts ; — if,  according  to  Sabatier  and  Boyer,  the 
brain  be  a  secreting  organ,  and,  according  to  the  greater 
number  of  anatomists  before  us,  the  origin  and  source  of  the 
nerves ; — if  all  sensations  and  ideas  be  derived  from  the  five 
external  senses ; — if  the  instinctive  labors  of  animals,  and 
the  arts  of  man,  be  ascribable  to  their  hands,  eyes,  ears,  and 
other  external  instruments; — if  it  be  maintained  that  one 
nerve  can  perform  the  function  of  another,  so  that  the  nerves 
are  homogeneous ; — if  it  be  taught  by  some  magnetisers,  that, 
in  the  perfect  state  of  animal  magnetism,  the  spirit  acts 
without  the  assistance  of  the  organization; — if  the  greater 
number  of  metaphysicians  maintain  that  the  highest  faculties 
of  the  understanding — reason  and  will,  at  least  act  inde- 
pendently of  all  organization; — if  hydrocephalic  persons  be 
mentioned,  who  without  brain  have  manifested  feelings  and 
intellectual  faculties; — if  the  same  be  related  of  animals 
whose  brain  was  ossified; — if  any  of  these  assertions  be 
admitted,  and  the  brain  be  at  the  same  time  maintained  the 
exclusive  organ  of  the  soul,  the  contradiction  is  evident. 
'Now  there  is  no  author  who  has  not  advanced  one  or  other 
of  these  suppositions ;  and,  therefore,  it  will  not  be  super- 
fluous to  detail  our  ideas  relative  to  the  organ  of  the  soul. 


60 


PHRENOLOGY 


and  to  inculcate  our  principle  that  the  brain  is  the  sole  organ 
both  of  the  feelings  and  of  the  intellectual  faculties. 

In  support  of  this  truth,  I  accordingly  make  the  following 
observations : — ■ 

Vegetative  life  requires  neither  the  brain  nor  the  cerebel- 
lum. The  superior  parts  of  both  hemispheres,  the  great 
commissure,  even  more  than  half  of  the  cerebellum  may  be 
wounded,  destroyed  by  suppuration,  or  removed,  without 
injury  to  the  functions  of  the  five  external  senses,  or  of 
vegetative  life.  Acephali,  or  monsters  destitute  of  brain, 
are  frequently  born  strong  and  fat,  several  of  them  even 
live  some  time  after  birth.  Hence,  if  the  brain  were  not 
destined  for  superior  functions,  its  existence  would  be  useless. 
However,  it  is  more  than  probable  that  the  largest  and  most 
curious  and  complicated  of  all  the  nervous  systems,  has 
functions  corresponding  to  the  perfectness  of  its  organization. 

Moreover,  all  the  parts  of  the  body  may  be  wounded  or 
destroyed — even  the  nervous  mass  of  the  spine  may  be  com- 
pressed or  injured  at  a  certain  distance  from  the  brain, 
without  immediately  destroying  the  feelings  and  intellectual 
faculties.  In  tetanus,  produced  by  a  cause  remote  from  the 
brain,  the  other  nervous  systems  are  sometimes  attacked  in 
the  most  violent  manner,  while  the  functions  of  the  mind 
remain  entire  till  death.  On  the  contrary,  if  the  brain  be 
compressed,  or  destroyed,  its  functions  are  deranged,  and 
the  manifestations  of  feelings  and  intellectual  faculties  are 
suspended  or  annihilated. 

However  defective  our  knowledge  of  the  scale  of  the  brain 
from  the  lowest  animals  to  man  may  be,  it  is  nevertheless 
certain  that  the  cerebral  parts  multiply,  whenever  the  num- 
ber and  energy  of  feelings  and  intellectual  faculties  increase. 
'Now  this  would  not  hold  good  were  not  the  brain  exclusively 
J  the  organ  of  the  feelings  and  intellectual  faculties. 

If  the  developement  of  brain  be  defective,  on  the 
other  hand,  manifestations  of  feelings  and  intellectual  facul- 
ties are  also  defective.  An  infinite  number  of  cases  prove 
the  brains  of  idiots  from  birth  defective,  and  the  manifesta- 
tions of  feelings  and  intellectual  faculties  perfect  in  propor- 


FUNCTIONS  OF  THE  BRAIN 


61 


tion  as  the  organization  of  the  brain  improves;  and  the 
developement  of  the  brain  very  considerable,  if  the  feelings 
and  intellectual  faculties  are  very  energetic.  Of  the  truth 
of  this  last  proposition  every  observer  may  be  convinced  by 
inspecting  the  heads  of  those  who  have  excelled  in  talents, 
and  have  been  remarkable  for  their  general  capacities. 

Again,  manifestations  of  the  mental  faculties  always  fol- 
low the  growth  of  the  cerebral  organs ;  in  children  the  brain 
is  small  and  pulpy,  and,  therefore,  the  functions  of  animal 
life  are  not  manifested;  but  in  proportion  as  it  increases, 
the  faculties  appear ;  and  in  its  state  of  highest  developement 
the  mental  manifestations  show  the  greatest  energy.  More- 
over, in  proportion  a.s  the  organization  of  the  brain  decreases, 
the  energy  of  the  feelings  and  intellectual  faculties  decreases 
also. 

Further,  if  the  brain  do  not  follow  the  common  order  of 
developement,  if  this  take  place  earlier  or  later  than  usual, 
the  feelings  and  intellectual  faculties  are  evinced  in  the  same 
order. 

Certain  faculties,  also,  are  more  active  in  men,  and  others 
in  women,  in  conformity  with  the  difference  observable  in 
their  cerebral  organizations. 

Precisely  as  the  volume  and  figure  of  the  brain  are  propa- 
gated from  parents  to  children,  are  intellectual  faculties  and 
dispositions  hereditary. 

To  the  preceding  proofs  I  may  add,  that  the  affective  and 
intellectual  faculties  are  weakened  or  deranged  by  age  or 
disease,  in  the  same  proportion  as  the  brain  is  altered.  Thus, 
all  concur  to  prove  that  the  brain  is  the  organ  of  the  feelings 
and  intellectual  faculties. 

OBJECTIONS. 

There  are,  however,  various  objections  to  the  above  conclu- 
sion. I  shall  answer  the  most  important  of  these,  which 
are  still  repeated  by  authors. 

I.    Diseases  and  Wounds  of  the  Brain. 
To  prove  the  brain  the  exclusive  organ  of  mind,  I  have 
said  that  its  functions  are  more  or  less  disturbed  by  its 


62 


PHRENOLOGY 


diseases,  and  by  wounds  of  its  substance.  Hildanus  relates 
the  case  of  a  boy  ten  years  of  age,  whose  skull  was  by  an 
accident  depressed  near  the  lambdoid  suture,  and  as  no 
immediate  ill  effect  ensued  from  this,  the  bone  was  not  raised. 
The  boy,  who  was  endowed  with  strong  mental  dispositions, 
by  degrees  lost  memory  and  judgment,  became  incapable  of 
learning  anything,  fell  into  decay,  and  died  at  forty  years 
of  age.  Repeated  observations  induced  Boerhaave  to  say, 
that  if  the  bones  of  the  skull  be  forced  in  so  as  to  compress 
the  brain,  blunting  of  the  senses,  fainting  fits,  giddiness, 
loss  of  consciousness,  and  delirium,  will  result.  In  the  writ- 
ings, too,  of  Morgagni,  Haller,  and  others,  many  slight  in- 
juries of  the  brain  are  mentioned,  by  which  the  faculties  of 
the  mind  were  disturbed.  It  would  be  superfluous  to  cite 
a  greater  number  of  such  examples.  Several  authors  have 
even  maintained  that  every  injury  of  the  brain  necessarily 
produces  some  derangement  of  the  functions  of  the  mind. 

On  the  other  hand,  much  has  been  written  and  published, 
which  would  persuade  us,  that  very  considerable  injuries  of 
the  brain  have  not  impaired  the  manifestations  of  the  soul. 
Thus,  the  case  of  one  wounded  in  the  head  by  a  shot,  is 
recorded,  in  whose  brain  the  ball  remained,  and  who  still 
lived  for  many  years  after  the  accident,  without  the  least 
derangement  of  the  intellectual  faculties.  After  death,  the 
ball  was  found  near  the  pineal  gland.*  A  child  of  eight 
years  of  age,  had  its  skull  broken  by  a  kick  of  a  horse,  and 
pieces  of  the  cineritious  substance,  larger  than  a  hen's  egg, 
(as  it  is  expressed,)  were  lost;  this  child,  however,  was 
restored  to  health,  and  his  intellectual  faculties  did  not 
suffer,  t  A  youth,  fifteen  years  of  age,  received  a  blow  on 
the  head  with  a  stone;  his  skull  was  fractured,  his  brain 
turned  black,  and  issued  out  at  the  woimd;  in  a  fit  of 
delirium,  he  pulled  away  the  apparatus  which  covered  the 
wound,  and  with  it  a  portion  of  brain,  do^vn  to  the  corpus 
callosum.  This  patient  was  paralytic,  but  his  intelligence 
was  unimpaired.if    A  child  of  seven  years  of  age,  had  a 


*  Memoires  de  I'Acad.  de  Chir.  t.  i.  p.  134. 
t  Ibid.  p.  126.  t  Ibid.  p.  150. 


FUNCTIONS  OF  THE  BRAIN 


63 


severe  wound  inflicted  on  his  head  by  falling  from  a  horse, 
and  the  brain  issued,  continually,  by  new  excrescences,  with- 
out doing  any  harm  to  tlie  intellectual  faculties.  Another 
child  lost  a  great  deal  of  his  brain  by  fungus,  which  continued 
to  grow  during  four  months.  The  cineritious  substance  in 
the  seat  of  the  wound,  was  changed  into  pus;  yet  the  child 
retained  consciousness,  and  spoke  intelligently  till  his  death. ^ 
A  stag  drove  its  horn  through  the  orbit  into  the  head  of  a 
hunter,  so  that  its  point  came  out  at  the  top  of  the  head; 
notwithstanding  this  accident,  the  man  walked  to  his  home, 
at  a  distance  of  two  leagues.  A  great  number  of  similar 
cases  have  been  noted,  partly  as  extraordinary  occurrences, 
partly  as  proofs  of  the  brain  not  being  the  organ  of  the 
mind,  and  to  show  that  the  intellectual  faculties  were  inde- 
pendent of  the  organic  structure. 

There  are  numerous  examples  of  derangement  in  the 
intellectual  faculties,  where  not  the  least  defect  could  be 
discovered  in  the  brain  after  death.  In  many  cases  of  mental 
alienation,  instead  of  finding  any  cause  in  the  brain,  disease 
has  been  observed  in  very  different  parts,  as  in  the  liver, 
bowels,  &c.  Pinel  affirms  that  the  most  careful  dissections 
have  taught  nothing  respecting  the  seat  of  mental  alienation, 
and  that  diseases  of  the  brain  afford  no  sufficient  data  to 
conclude  that  it  is  the  exclusive  organ  of  the  intellectual 
faculties. 

In  order  to  rectify  these  statements,  so  opposite  in  appear- 
ance, we  must  consider  two  questions.  Was  it  possible,  until 
lately,  to  estimate  properly  the  nature  of  diseases  and  wounds 
of  the  brain?  And  was  it  possible,  before  our  discoveries, 
to  judge  correctly  of  the  effects  produced  by  them  on  the 
exhibition  of  intellect?  Now,  it  was  evidently  impossible 
to  take  an  exact  anatomical  account  of  an  organ,  not  only 
unknown,  but  on  the  structure  of  which,  notions  entirely 
opposite  to  the  truth  were  entertained.  Moreover,  authority 
too  often  induces  us  to  admit  facts  which  never  existed. 
Morgagni,  for  instance,  maintains  that  the  brains  of  the 


*  Van  Swieten,  t.  i.  p.  440 


64 


PHRENOLOGY 


proud  and  stubborn,  are  hard  and  coriaceous ;  and  that  those 

'  of  the  meek,  unsteady,  and  undecided,  are  soft.  Theophilus 
Bonnet  says,  that  the  brains  of  some,  who  happened  to  die  in 
anger,  or  fury,  were  hard,  dry,  and  friable.  According  to 
Portal,  the  cerebral  convolutions  in  the  insane  are  shallow; 
according  to  Dumas,  the  brain  in  reasonable  men  is  of  a 
round  figure;  this  author  avers,  also,  that  the  character  of 
any  person  is  mild  or  hasty,  that  his  ideas  are  lively  and 
rational,  or  heavy  and  confused,  that  he  is  an  idiot  or  a 

^  madman,  according  as  his  brain  is  more  or  less  dark  in  its 
color,  more  or  less  firm,  &c.  Such  notions  are  certainly 
exaggerated;  yet  can  it  be  supposed  that  in  madness  and 
idiotism  the  organ  of  the  mind  undergoes  no  kind  of  derange- 
ment ?  It  seems  to  me  necessary  to  inquire,  into  what 
changes  may  take  place  in  the  cerebral  mass,  generally,  or 
in  any  of  its  particular  parts ;  and,  also,  to  consider,  whether 
derangements  may  not  happen,  though  imperceptible  by  any 

^  of  the  five  external  senses.  If  in  one  struck  dead  by  light- 
ning, or  killed  by  gout  in  the  stomach,  or  hydrophobia,  or 
tetanus,  no  derangement  in  the  nervous  system  be  recognised, 
are  we,  therefore,  authorised  to  say  that  the  nervous  system 
has  really  suffered  no  change  whatever  ? 

^  Gall,  and  I,  are  of  opinion,  that  all  deranged  manifesta- 
tions of  the  mind  result,  immediately,  from  some  change  in 
the  brain.  We  recognise  the  remote  causes  of  cerebral  dis- 
eases often  connected  with  derangements  of  the  abdominal 
viscera;  but  we  say  that  its  immediate  cause  resides  in  the 
brain.  Intestinal  worms  occasion  bad  breath,  cough,  grind- 
ing of  the  teeth,  tickling  in  the  nose,  blindness,  mental 
derangement,  &c. ;  but  the  bowels,  which  are  irritated,  are 
no  more  the  seat  of  insanity,  than  of  the  tickling  of  the  nose, 
the  cough,  or  the  blindness. 

It  is  also  true  that  very  considerable  injuries  of  the  brain, 

J  sometimes  disturb  the  mental  manifestations  very  slightly; 
and  on  the  contrary,  that  very  slight  injuries  of  the  brain 
are  often  accompanied  with  the  most  violent  symptoms.  This, 
however,  also  happens  in  other  parts  of  the  body.  Very 
large  abscesses  have  been  sometimes  found  in  the  lungs. 


FUNCTIONS  OF  THE  BRAIN 


65 


without  having  been  accompanied  during  life  by  any  great 
derangement  of  the  respiration ;  but  the  lungs  are  no  less  the 
organ  of  respiration  on  this  account.  Ossifications  have 
sometimes  occurred  in  the  heart  without  any  remarkable 
disturbance  of  the  circulation ;  the  heart,  nevertheless,  is  still 
the  organ  of  circulation.  It  is  evidently  wrong,  then,  to 
ascribe  to  the  wound  or  to  its  seat,  that  which  must  be  at- 
tributed to  the  particular  constitution  of  the  patient  alone; 
and  thus  it  is  that  we  may  conceive  why  no  bad  symptom 
should  occasionally  result  from  a  very  considerable  injury 
of  the  brain  in  patients  but  little  irritable ;  whilst,  in  others, 
very  excitable,  the  slightest  wound  will  produce  the  most 
serious  consequences;  in  the  same  way  as  one  individual 
being  slightly  wounded  on  a  finger  is  seized  with  tetanus, 
whilst  another  bears  the  amputation  of  an  arm  or  leg  without 
the  least  alteration  of  health. 

It  still  remains  for  me  to  mention  certain  reported  cases, 
in  which  half  of  the  brain  is  said  to  have  been  fOiind  com- 
pletely destroyed  by  suppuration,  while  the  intellectual 
faculties  remained  unimpaired,  l^ow  it  seems  that  in  such 
a  case,  at  least,  the  half  of  the  mental  manifestations  ought 
to  have  been  annihilated.  Though  these  statements  bear  the 
stamp  of  incorrectness,  let  us  admit  them  as  they  are  related ; 
let  us  even  join  to  them,  one  made  by  Gall,  at  Vienna.  He 
attended  a  clergyman  in  the  Theresian  Institution,  who  for 
a  long  time  had  labored  under  a  pustular  erysipelas,  which 
appeared  and  disappeared  from  time  to  time;  by  degrees 
his  left  side  became  so  weak  that  he  could  not  walk  without 
a  stick ;  and,  finally,  he  was  struck  with  apoplexy,  and  died 
in  a  few  hours.  Three  days  before,  he  had  delivered  a 
lecture  at  the  school.  On  dissecting  his  head  a  part  of  the 
right  hemisphere,  as  large  as  the  fist,  was  found  changed  into 
a  yellowish  and  grumous  substance.  Gall  was  ignorant  of 
the  structure  of  the  brain  at  that  time,  hence,  prevented  from 
examining  the  case  with  perfect  accuracy.  Let  us  now 
consider  how  such  facts  are  to  be  explained,  if  the  brain  be 
in  truth  the  organ  of  the  mind. 

In  giving  the  histories  of  cerebral  injuries,  the  duplicity 


66 


PHRENOLOGY 


of  the  nervous  system '  has  very  generally  been  forgotten. 
But  one  half  of  the  brain  may  be  destroyed,  and  the  various 
faculties  still  be  manifested  by  the  other  of  the  opposite  side, 
just  as  one  of  the  optic,  auditory,  or  olfactory  nerves  may  be 
destroyed,  without  being  blind,  deaf,  or  deprived  of  the  smell. 
It  is  well  known,  too,  that  the  two  hemispheres  of  the  brain 
may  be  in  very  different  states  of  health.  Tiedeman  relates 
the  case  of  one  Moser,  who  was  insane  on  one  side,  and 
observed  his  insanity  with  the  other.  Gall  attended  a  min- 
ister similarly  afflicted;  for  three  years  he  heard  himself 
reproached  and  abused  on  the  left  side;  with  his  right  he 
commonly  appreciated  the  madness  of  his  left  side;  some- 
times, however,  when  feverish  and  unwell,  he  did  not  judge 
properly.  Long  after  getting  rid  of  this  singular  disorder, 
anger,  or  a  greater  indulgence  in  wine  than  usual,  induced 
a  tendency  to  relapse. 

These  occurrences  seem  more  extraordinary  than  they  are 
in  fact,  for  an  opposite  state  of  each  hemisphere  is  not  rare ; 
it  exists  evidently  in  the  hemiplegia:  one  side  is  paralysed, 
deprived  of  all  activity,  the  other  continues  to  exert  its 
functions,  and  the  patients  seem  to  have  lost  no  faculty  of 
the  mind.  One  half  of  the  tongue  is  paralysed,  one  eye  is 
blind,  one  ear  is  deaf;  while  taste  remains  on  one  side,  the 
opposite  eye  sees,  and  the  other  ear  hears.  It  sometimes 
happens  that  only  one  hemisphere  of  the  brain  is  inflamed; 
and  in  cases  of  megrim,  the  blood-vessels  are  always  fullest 
on  the  diseased  side.  On  dissecting  a  child  killed  by  a 
violent  blow  on  the  right  side  of  his  head,  the  right  cerebral 
hemisphere  was  found  pale  and  bloodless;  the  left,  on  the 
contrary,  was  injected  and  loaded  with  blood — an  evident 
proof  that  the  hemispheres  may  be  in  opposite  states.  If 
this  child  had  lived  after  the  blow,  it  is  probable  he  would 
have  been  paralysed  on  one  side,  and  convulsed  on  the  other. 
I  once  dissected  the  brain  of  an  insane  female,  and  found  a 
portion  of  the  inferior  large  apparatus  of  increase  (thalamus) 
of  the  left  side  destroyed  by  suppuration,  and  the  nervous 
bundles  and  convolutions  connected  with  it  diminished  in 
size;  while  on  the  right  side,  all  the  parts  were  larger  and 


FUNCTIONS  OF  THE  BRAIN 


67 


in  apparent  health.  These  examples  suffice  to  show  that 
the  brain  is  a  double  organ,  that  one  half  may  be  in  a  state 
different  from  the  other,  and  that  every  special  faculty  may 
be  manifested,  so  long  as  the  organ  on  which  it  depends,  is 
not  utterly  destroyed  on  both  sides. 

Let  us  now  examine  whether  or  not  it  has  hitherto  been 
possible  to  judge  correctly  of  deranged  mental  manifesta- 
tions. !N"o  one  feels  more  sensibly  the  insufficiency  of  our 
actual  knowledge  of  human  nature  than  he  who  studies  the 
^  deranged  manifestations  of  the  mind.  Pinel  despairs  of 
our  ever  knowing  the  cause  of  mental  derangements,  on 
account  of  our  ignorance  of  healthy  mental  function.  I  shall 
here  do  no  more  than  expose  the  defects  in  the  methods  of 
the  procedure  adopted  by  our  predecessors. 

We  may  observe,  in  all  reports  upon  wounds  of  the  head 
and  injuries  of  the  brain,  the  following  very  loose  expres- 
sions:— 'The  patient  continued  to  walk,  to  eat,  and  drink; 
he  had  his  consciousness  entire,  viz.,  he  knew  all  around 
him;  he  manifested  some  memory  and  judgment;  conse- 
quently, he  possessed  all  the  faculties  of  the  mind,  none  of 
them  were  disturbed.  If,  however,  a  person  of  a  mild  and 
peaceable  character,  after  being  wounded  on  the  head  by  a 
stone,  become  quarrelsome  and  morose;  and  if  another, 
whose  life  had  ever  been  irreproachable,  after  a  similar 
accident,  should  feel  an  irresistible  inclination  to  steal,  it  is 
evident  that,  though  these  persons  preserve  consciousness, 
memory,  judgment,  and  imagination,  we  cannot  thence  infer, 
that  the  injuries  inflicted  have  produced  no  derangement  of 
the  mental  functions.  Further,  animals  have  consciousness, 
memory,  and  judgment ;  but  are  they,  therefore,  men  ?  If  a 
man  were  by  disease  reduced,  in  point  of  faculties,  to  the 
level  of  a  dog,  but  still  enjoyed  the  five  external  senses,  as 
well  as  some  portion  of  memory  and  judgment,  would  he, 
therefore,  have  lost  no  characteristic  faculty  of  humanity? 
If  partial  idiots  have  perception,  memory,  and  judgment, 
are  all  the  faculties  of  the  mind  manifested?  If,  in  cases 
of  partial  insanity,  consciousness,  memory,  and  judgment, 
be  preserved,  and  if  imagination  be  even  exalted,  are  all  the 


68 


PHRENOLOGY 


faculties,  therefore,  unimpaired?  Finally,  if  individuals 
after  a  concussion  of  the  brain,  or  a  fit  of  apoplexy,  lose  the 
memory  of  proper  names,  or  of  languages,  though  they 
preserve  the  functions  of  the  five  senses — memory,  and 
judgment,  have  they  lost  nothing  whatever?  Thus,  it  is 
evident  that  the  manifestations  of  one  or  more  faculties  of 
the  mind  may  be  deranged  or  destroyed,  and  the  patient  still 
be  incorrectly  said  to  preserve  all  the  powers  which  constitute 
an  intellectual  and  moral  being.  It  follows,  also,  that 
hitherto  it  has  been  impossible  to  judge  accurately  of  the 
effects  of  diseases  and  injuries  of  the  brain,  because  physiol- 
ogists have  considered  the  general  attributes  of  the  under- 
standing only,  and  been  ignorant  of  the  special  faculties. 
Erom  all  that  has  been  said,  it  appears  that  injuries  of  the 
brain  must  be  investigated  under  the  guidance  of  sounder 
ideas  of  the  healthy  structure  and  function  of  that  organ, 
before  safe  and  useful  conclusions  can  be  come  at,  in  regard 
to  mental  aberration.  More  details  of  this  kind  are  given 
in  my  work  on  Insanity. 

II.  Hydrocephalus, 

An  objection  has  been  founded  on  observations,  and  pre- 
tends that  although  the  brain  was  destroyed,  dissolved,  or 
disorganised  by  water,  the  manifestations  of  the  mind  have 
continued  unimpaired. 

Zacutus  Lusitanus  maintains  that  he  saw  a  child  live  for 
„  three  years  without  brain.  He  believed  that  what  he  saw 
in  the  head  after  death  was  a  double  dura  mater.  Duverney 
says  that  he  found  water  only,  and  no  brain,  in  a  head  w^hich 
he  dissected.  Haller  and  Soemmerring  notice  these  state- 
ments without  denying  them.  Lauffer  *  speaks  of  a  new- 
bom  child  whose  head  contained  nothing  but  water,  in  which 
the  brain  that  had  once  existed  was  dissolved.  This  report 
received,  as  he  maintains,  very  general  accredence,  and  the 
phenomenon  was  spoken  of  under  the  name  of  liquefaction, 
or  solution  of  the  brain. 


*  Diss,  de  Infante  sine  Cerebro  nato.    Halae,  1743. 


FUNCTIONS  OF  THE  BRAIN 


69 


Anatomists  were  aeciTstomed  to  see  the  brain  in  its  natural 
state  as  a  compact  and  solid  mass,  and  if  they  chanced  not  to 
find  this  solidity  of  structure,  considered  the  whole  organ 
as  dissolved  or  annihilated.  Morgagni,  however,  reproaches 
Duverney  with  his  inadvertency,  and  assures  us  that  in 
perfectly  similar  cases,  he  always  found  the  brain  distended 
into  a  thin  membrane ;  remarking  that  the  same  circumstance 
had  been  observed  before  him  by  Tulpius,  Yesalius  and 
several  other  anatomists.  In  order  to  answer  the  objection 
founded  on  the  statements  of  Duverney  and  others,  we  must 
consider  three  points:  First,  the  place  where  the  water  is 
found;  then,  the  change  which  the  cerebral  mass  has  under- 
gone ]  and,  lastly,  the  condition  of  the  mental  manifestations. 

Sir  Everard  Home,  in  his  Observations  on  the  Functions 
of  the  Brain,*  seems  to  maintain  that  there  is  a  certain 
quantity  of  water  in  all  brains.  He  even  says :  ^  Facts 
appear  to  point  out  the  use  of  water  in  the  ventricles  in  the 
brain,  and  they  account  for  the  great  variety  which  is  met 
with  in  the  form  and  extent  of  the  posterior  comua  of  the 
lateral  ventricles,  their  size  varying  according  to  the  quantity 
of  water  which  is  necessary  to  keep  up  the  pressure  required.' 
He  says :  *  pressure  to  a  certain  degree,  uniformly  kept  up, 
is  necessary  to  the  performance  of  the  healthy  functions  of 
the  cerebrum ;  and  any  increase  or  diminution  of  this  pressure 
puts  a  stop  to  them.'  Before  Sir  E.  Home,  Ackermann  in 
Heidelberg  published  the  same  statements,  and  now  Mr. 
Magendie  in  Paris  entertains  similar  notions  concerning 
what  he  calls  Spinocerebral  liquor. 

It  is  certainly  true  that  the  cavities  of  the  brain  vary  in 
size,  according  to  the  quantity  of  the  collected  water.  They 
are,  however,  very  different  in  the  natural  state  when  quite 
free  from  fluid;  but  the  accumulation  of  water  is  incon- 
testably  the  effect  of  disease ;  for  in  animals  which  are  killed, 
or  in  men  who  die  a  sudden  and  violent  death,  no  water  is 
found  in  the  ventricles  of  the  brain. 

Physicians  are  not  all  agreed  on  the  seat  of  the  water  in 

*  Philosoph.  Transact,  for  the  year  1814,  part  II.  p.  417. 


70 


PHRENOLOGY 


hjdroceplialics.  I  speak  here  only  of  those  cases  in  which 
the  skull  is  distended  beyond  the  natural  size;  for  there  are 
two  varieties  of  this  disease,  very  important  to  be  distin- 
guished in  the  practice  of  medicine;  the  one  of  these,  how- 
ever, does  not  belong  to  this  subject.  Dr.  Baillie,  in  his 
Morbid  Anatomy,  when  treating  of  Hydrocephalus,  has  not 
mentioned  this  difference.  Sir  Everard  Home,  in  his 
Observations  on  the  Functions  of  the  Brain,  also  confounds 
the  acute  and  chronic  hydrocephalus.  He  '  thinks  that  the 
quantity  of  water  may  be  much  increased  without  material 
injury  to  the  functions  of  the  brain,  when  the  skull  is  not 
ossified;  but  after  that  period  even  a  few  ounces  in  the 
lateral  ventricles  have  been  known  to  produce  as  much  undue 
pressure  as  to  bring  on  headache,  general  uneasiness,  a 
sensation  as  if  the  head  were  too  large,  loss  of  spirits,  con- 
vulsions, loss  of  memory  of  recent  events,  idiotism,  insensi- 
bility, and  death.'  IN^ow  all  these  symptoms  which  he  here 
relates,  are  of  an  acute  nature,  and  ought  to  be  distinguished 
from  those  of  the  chronic  hydrocephalus. 

In  the  hydrocephali,  which  distend  the  skull  to  a  larger 
size  than  is  natural,  the  water  is  said  to  be  accumulated  either 
in  the  cavities  of  the  brain,  or  between  the  membranes,  or 
between  the  dura  mater  and  the  skull.  While  the  greater 
number  of  practitioners  consider  the  two  latter  varieties  as 
the  most  common,  all  physicians  admit  the  three  kinds. 
Professor  Walter,  at  Berlin,  has  maintained  publicly  that 
in  sixteen  hydrocephalic  persons,  he  found  the  water  external 
to  the  brain.  Pinel  *  says,  that  in  hydrocephalus  the  water 
is  contained  between  the  skull  and  the  dura  mater,  or 
between  the  membranes,  and  only  occasionally  in  the  cavities 
of  the  brain. 

Odier  fancies  that  the  chronic  hydrocephalus  is  always 
produced  in  the  windings  of  the  pia  mater,  and  he  distin- 
guishes it  from  the  acute,  which,  in  his  opinion,  is  formed 
only  by  an  accumulation  in  the  ventricles ;  he  gives  a  detailed 
description  of  the  acute  hydrocephalus  calling  it  internal. 


*  Loc.  cit.  p.  475. 


FUNCTIONS  OF  THE  BRAIN 


71 


in  opposition  to  the  hydrocephalus,  of  which  I  here  speak, 
and  which  he  styles  externaL  Petit,  on  the  contrary,  main- 
tains that  in  all  greatly  distended  hydrocephalic  heads,  he 
found  the  water  in  the  ventricles,  and  never  between  the 
membranes,  or  the  dura  mater  and  skull.  Gall  and  I 
formerly  maintained,  that  in  large  hydrocephalic  skulls  the 
liquid  always  occupied  the  cavities  of  the  brain;  recent 
observations,  however,  have  convinced  me  that  in  some,  even 
of  a  large  size,  the  water  may  be  contained  between  the 
brain  and  the  dura  mater.  In  my  Erench  work,  entitled 
'  Ohservatiom  sur  la  Phrenologie/  art.  Hydrocephalus,  I 
speak  of  a  child  who  died  at  the  age  of  eighteen  months, 
whose  body  I  opened  along  with  Dr.  Roberton  at  Paris ;  we 
found  two  pounds  and  a  half  of  water  between  the  arachnoid 
coat  and  the  dura  mater,  whilst  the  brain  lay  in  the  base  of 
the  skull  covered  with  a  thick  pseudo-membrane.  The  child, 
though  always  weakly,  manifested  a  common  share  of  mental 
functions.  Since  that  time,  I  have  dissected,  with  Mr. 
Breshet  at  Paris,  two  new-bom  children,  whose  brains  were 
very  small,  defective,  and  only  developed  contiguous  to  the 
medulla  oblongata  and  cerebellum,  while  the  rest  of  the 
skulls,  well  enough  formed,  were  filled  with  water.  The 
most  remarkable  case  of  hydrocephalus  I  have  seen,  was 
shown  to  me  by  Mr.  Keys,  surgeon  of  Guy's  Hospital,  in 
London,  on  my  visit  to  that  metropolis  in  1825.  James 
Cardinal,  whose  portrait  I  have  given,  died  at  the  age  of 
thirty  years,  a  few  days  before  my  arrival.  The  gentleman 
mentioned  above,  had  opened  the  head,  and  found  about 
nine  pints  of  water  between  the  dura  mater  and  the  brain, 
which  was  placed  at  the  bottom  of  the  skull,  and  one  pint  in 
the  lateral  ventricles.  Informed  of  my  being  in  London, 
he  was  so  kind  as  to  allow  me  to  examine,  with  him, 
this  extraordinary  head.  An  opening  under  the  posterior 
part  of  the  falx  established  a  communication  between  the 
great  cavities  of  the  hemispheres  and  the  space  between  the 
brain  and  the  dura  mater.  The  corpus  callosum  appeared 
wanting,  but  it  was  only  split  all  along  in  the  raphe,  or 
middle  line;  the  masses  composing  it  evidently  existed  on 


72 


PHRENOLOGY 


both  sides.  The  lateral  ventricles  were  particularly  dis- 
tended in  the  posterior  lobes;  several  convolutions  of  the 
right  side  were  quite  unfolded,  whilst  those  of  the  left 
presented  the  usual  appearance.  The  convolutions  in  the 
middle  line  of  the  head  above  the  corpus  callosum,  which  are 
commonly  opposed  with  the  falciform  process  of  the  dura 
mater  between  them,  were  raised  by  the  liquid,  and  formed 
part  of  the  general  surface.  The  appearance  of  the  anterior 
and  middle  lobes  scarcely  differed  from  that  of  the  healthy 
brain :  the  olfactory  nerves  were  large,  those  of  sight  small, 
and  the  anterior  pair  of  the  corpora  quadrigemina  very  small. 
The  cerebellum  was  flattened,  and  its  cineritious  substance 
of  a  very  dark  hue.  The  whole  of  the  cerebral  mass  was  soft, 
and  weighed  two  pounds  fourteen  ounces  and  a  half. 

Let  us  now  examine  what  change  the  brain  undergoes 
in  dropsy  of  its  cavities.  Many  anatomists  have  admitted 
that  the  brain  in  common  hydrocephalus  was  distended  like 
a  bladder;  but  no  one  knew  how  this  took  place;  and  it 
seemed  inconceivable  that  a  delicate  and  medullary  body, 
like  the  brain,  could  be  brought  to  such  thinness  by  disten- 
tion, without  tearing.  Walter,  Ackermann,  and  many 
others,  in  admitting  the  existence  of  the  cerebral  mass  in 
hydrocephalic  persons,  still  maintain  that  it  is  disorganised. 
Gall  and  I  on  the  other  hand,  hold,  that  the  cerebral  sub- 
stance is  not  disorganised,  and  we  establish  our  opinion  by 
anatomical  and  physiological  proofs. 

Anatomy  shows  that  the  fibres  of  the  brain  are  vertical  or 
perpendicular  to  the  cavities,  and  that  each  convolution  con- 
sists of  two  layers,  but  closely  applied  to  each  other.  If, 
therefore,  water  be  accumulated  in  the  ventricles,  so  as  to 
act  against  the  convolutions  placed  around  them,  it  gradu- 
ally separates  the  two  layers  whose  natural  position  is 
vertical,  and  makes  them  assume  a  horizontal  direction.  In 
this  manner,  the  convolutions,  in  large  hydrocephalic  skulls, 
are  entirely  unfolded,  and  present  the  smooth  surface  of  a 
membranous  expansion,  which  was  considered  by  Zacutus 
Lusitanus  as  a  second  dura  mater.  If  such  hydrocephalic 
heads  have  not  been  shaken,  and  the  dissection  been  made 


FUNCTIONS  OF  THE  BRAIN 


73 


with  due  caution,  the  water  is  limpid;  but  if  they  have  been 
carried  from  place  to  place,  and  rudely  handled,  it  is  not 
astonishing  that  the  water  should  become  turbid,  and  the 
brain  present  something  of  a  dissolved  or  eroded  appearance. 

We  establish  our  assertions,  also,  by  physiology.  If  the 
brain  be  the  organ  of  the  mind,  and  be  destroyed  in  hydro- 
cephalic persons,  they  must,  necessarily,  be  incapable  of 
manifesting  any  mental  faculty.  One  or  the  other  of  the  two 
following  opinions  must  be  entertained:  either  the  brain  is 
the  organ  of  the  soul,  and  not  destroyed  in  such  as,  affected 
with  hydrocephalus,  manifest  intellectual  faculties;  or,  the 
brain  is  not  the  organ  of  the  soul ;  because  those  whose  brain 
is  disorganised,  exhibit  propensities,  sentiments,  and  intel- 
lectual faculties. 

Walter,  of  Berlin,  imagining  the  brain  in  hydrocephalus 
to  be  disorganised,  maintained,  that  in  this  disease  all  the 
intellectual  faculties  were  annihilated.  This,  however,  is 
contrary  to  fact;  there  are  many  instances  in  which  all,  or 
most  of  the  faculties,  were  exhibited,  although  the  disease 
was  very  considerable.  Tulpius  had  seen  a  hydrocephalic 
person  endowed  with  understanding,  and  therefore  inferred 
that  the  structure  of  the  brain  must  differ  from  what  is 
commonly  supposed.  Camper,  and  many  other  anatomists, 
speak  with  amazement  of  similar  cases. 

For  the  sake  of  adducing  still  stronger  proofs  of  the 
brain's  being  exclusively  the  organ  of  the  soul,  and  of 
refuting  at  the  same  time,  those  who  deny  intellectual 
faculties  to  the  affected  with  hydrocephalus,  I  shall  quote 
several  cases  in  point.  Gall  and  I  observed  for  some  years 
a  woman  with  considerable  dropsy  of  the  brain,  who  mani- 
fested that  share  of  understanding  usually  possessed  by 
women  of  her  class.  She  died  at  fifty-four  years  of  age 
of  inflammation  of  the  intestinal  canal.  We  found  the 
cavities  of  the  brain  containing  four  pounds  of  limpid  water. 
We  once  saw  a  man  of  learning,  whose  skull  was  much  larger 
than  natural,  particularly  in  the  anterior  and  superior  part 
of  the  forehead.  To  judge  from  its  size,  there  must  have 
been  from  three  to  four  pounds  of  water  in  the  cerebral 


74 


PHRENOLOGY 


cavities;  yet  tie  possessed  very  extensive  knowledge.  The 
only  inconvenience  which  resulted  from  his  peculiar  state 
was,  that  he  often  fell  suddenly  asleep  in  the  midst  of  the 
most  interesting  conversation,  at  table,  at  the  theatre,  and 
elsewhere.  At  Copenhagen,  we  saw  a  girl  thirteen  years 
of  age,  whose  head  measured  twenty-five  inches  in  circum- 
ference, nineteen  inches  from  one  ear  to  the  other,  and  as 
much  from  the  root  of  the  nose  to  the  neck;  it  must  have 
contained  from  ten  to  thirteen  pounds  of  water;  although 
her  legs  were  almost  paralytic,  and  she  had  to  be  carried 
from  one  place  to  another,  yet  she  was  genteel  in  her  manners, 
and  made  as  much  progress  as  the  other  girls  at  school.  At 
Augsburgh,  we  met  with  a  girl,  whose  head,  at  thirteen 
years,  resembled  in  shape  and  size  that  of  the  woman  of 
fifty-four  years  mentioned  above;  she  was  little,  but  walked 
well,  and  spoke  intelligently.  Another  female,  similarly 
affected,  eleven  years  of  age,  was  shown  to  us  at  Marbourgh ; 
and  at  Bruchsal,  we  found  a  hydrocephalic  girl  fourteen 
years  old,  who  kept  her  bed  constantly;  she,  although  cer- 
tainly too  childish  for  her  age,  with  understanding  enough, 
talked  on  all  that  interested  her.  Dr.  Tobias,  of  Leipzic, 
showed  us  a  hydrocephalic  head  of  an  extraordinary  size. 
The  person  had  lived  thirty-six  years,  and  possessed  common 
understanding;  this,  however,  he  lost  twelve  months  before 
his  death,  which  was  caused  by  a  violent  fit  of  anger.  Messrs. 
Laumeyer  and  Nueffer,  at  Fribourg,  in  Brisgau,  preserved 
the  skeleton  of  a  girl  aged  seven  years,  whose  skull  contained 
seventy  ounces  of  water,  and  who,  nevertheless,  frequently 
reminded  others  of  events  and  circumstances  she  had  heard 
read  from  the  papers  some  time  before.  Dr.  Maler,  of 
Carlsruhe,  related  to  us  the  history  of  one  affected  with 
hydrocephalus,  who  died  at  twenty  years  of  age,  and  whose 
skull  contained  above  ten  pounds  of  water.  This  individual 
displayed  ordinary  understanding.  When  I,  in  1814,  first 
saw  James  Cardinal  in  London,  his  head  measured  thirty- 
three  inches  in  circumference,  twenty-four  and  a  half  from 
one  ear  to  the  other,  and  twenty-three  and  a  half  from  the 
root  of  the  nose  to  the  nape  of  the  neck.    Yet,  this  lad. 


FUNCTIONS  OF  THE  BRAIN 


75 


then  nineteen  years  of  age,  manifested  all  the  feelings  and 
intellectual  faculties.  He  could  also  read  and  write  tolerably 
well.  I  examined  a  man  with  a  still  larger  head  at  Mussel- 
burgh, near  Edinburgh,  in  Scotland,  who  had  showed  tol- 
erably great  mental  functions.  Four  other  very  considerable 
hydrocephalic  heads,  exhibiting  mental  functions,  were  shown 
to  me  in  London.  Several  came  within  my  knowledge  and 
inspection  in  Paris.  These,  and  many  similar  examples 
prove,  that  hydrocephalic  patients  are  not  always  entirely 
destitute  of  the  affective  and  intellectual  faculties. 

Such  phenomena  are  easily  explained  by  those  who  are 
acquainted  with  the  structure  of  the  convolutions  of  the  brain. 
They  know  tliat  even  in  hydrocephalus  of  a  large  size,  the 
brain  is  not  disorganized,  but  that  it  is  either  placed  on  the 
bottom  of  the  skull,  or  that  the  direction  of  its  fibres  has 
been  changed  from  vertical  to  horizontal,  l^ow  the  exhibi- 
tion of  the  faculties  does  not  depend  essentially  on  that 
vertical,  horizontal,  or  inclined  position  of  the  cerebral 
fibres.  They  may  even  be  lengthened  without  the  internal 
organization  of  the  brain  being  thereby  destroyed.  The 
optic  nerve  is  sometimes  elongated  by  an  excresence  pushing 
the  eyeball  out  of  the  orbit,  without  loss  of  sight  ensuing. 
All  the  arguments,  then,  which  have  been  founded  on  hydro- 
cephalus, to  prove  the  brain  not  the  exclusive  organ  of  the 
soul,  fall  to  the  ground. 

It  is  sufficiently  well  known  that  Gall  and  I  were  the 
first  to  demonstrate  the  structure,  which  permits  so  wonderful 
a  change  as  that  which  happens  in  hydrocephalus,  to  occur 
without  total  disorganization  of  the  brain.  It  is  therefore 
rather  astonishing,  that  some  late  writers  speak  of  the  facts, 
our  discovery,  as  having  been  perfectly  familiar  to  them  for 
a  long  time  past.  Sir  Everard  Home,  after  relating  the 
history  of  a  boy  affected  with  water  in  the  brain,  whose 
head  measured  thirty-three  inches  in  circumference,  and 
whose  faculties  were  unimpaired,  proceeds  to  say :  ^  The 
preceding  facts  explain,  satisfactorily,  that  the  cerebrum  is 
made  up  of  thin  convolutions  of  medullary  and  cortical 
substances,  surrounding  the  two  lateral  ventricles  which  are 


76 


PHRENOLOGY 


unfolded,  when  the  cavities  of  tliose  ventricles  are  enlarged ; 
and  in  this  unfolded  state  the  functions  belonging  to  this 
part  of  the  organ  can  be  carried  on.'  Now,  our  memoir, 
announcing  this  truth,  was  presented  to  the  E^ational  Insti- 
tute of  France,  in  March,  1808,  and  was,  by  their  report  in 
the  same  year,  made  universally  known.  Sir  Everard  Home's 
paper,  upon  this  subject,  was  read  to  the  Royal  Society  in 
May,  1814;  six  years  after  our  discovery  was  before  every 
learned  society  in  Europe.  I  may  also  mention,  that  before 
Sir  Everard  Home  read  his  paper,  I  had  demonstrated  the 
structure  of  the  brain  in  the  Medico-Chirurgical  Society  in 
London.  Will  he  maintain  that  he  never  heard  our  discovery 
spoken  of,  even  in  the  very  vague  manner  in  which  he  has 
related  it? 

III.    Ossified  Brains. 

Among  other  phenomena,  which,  to  the  superficial  ob- 
server, seem  calculated  to  refute  the  principle,  that  the 
brain  is  exclusively  the  organ  of  the  mind,  are  the  petrified 
or  ossified  brains,  which,  it  has  been  asserted,  have  not 
hindered  the  mind  from  being  manifested.  Instead  of  ex- 
amining the  fact  of  occurrence,  our  adversaries,  in  their 
eagerness  to  overturn  our  opinions,  have  at  once  admitted  the 
existence  of  these  petrified  brains,  because  they  seem  decisive. 
Gall  and  I  saw  bony  masses  at  Vienna,  Leipsic,  Amsterdam, 
Cologne,  and  Paris,  which  were  alw^ays  shown  to  us  in 
triumph  as  ossified  brains,  and  complete  refutations  of  our 
position:  the  brain  is  the  organ  of  the  affective  and  intel- 
lectual faculties.  -  Thomas  Bartholin,  in  1660,  was  the  first 
to  speak  of  an  ossified  brain.  An  ox,  slaughtered  in  1670, 
in  the  Benedictine  monastery  of  St.  Justine,  near  Padua, 
according  to  the  story  of  the  monk,  who  was  cook,  had  a 
brain  as  hard  as  marble.  Duverney  exhibited  such  a  pre- 
tendedly  ossified  brain  to  the  Academy  of  Sciences,  in  1703. 
Moreschi,  professor  of  Anatomy  at  Bologna,  and  Dr.  Giro,* 
say  they  examined  at  Rovigo  a  similarly  ossified  brain.  They 
cut  it  horizontally  almost  on  the  level  with  the  corpus  cal- 


*  Gazette  de  Sante.    Paris,  Nov.  11,  1809.    No.  XXXII. 


FUNCTIONS  OF  THE  BRAIN 


77 


losum,  to  examine  the  interior  parts;  and  though  the  color 
of  the  circumference  was  different  from  that  of  the  centre, 
they  could  not  distinguish  the  cavities,  the  thalami,  the 
corpora  striata,  or  any  vestige  of  the  third  and  fourth 
ventricles,  of  the  corpora  quadrigemina,  or  of  the  pineal 
gland.  The  cerebellum  presented  only  parallel  transverse 
ridges.  The  basis  of  this  supposed  brain  was  only  uneven, 
but  exhibited  no  traces  of  origins  of  nerve.  The  ox,  more- 
over, manifested  the  same  inclinations  as  every  other  ox  with 
a  sound  brain,  and  was  eight  years  old  when  killed.  Dumas 
asserts  that  these  facts  completely  refute  our  doctrine  of  the 
cerebral  organs. 

The  erroneous  opinions  relative  to  ossified  brains  are  still 
very  far  from  being  abandoned,  though  Yallisneri  has  shown 
their  falsity  and  untenableness. 

The  number  of  these  ossified  masses  which  we  ourselves 
have  seen,  and  the  number  of  which  Vallisneri  speaks,  seem 
to  prove  that  they  occur  frequently.  Let  us,  in  the  first 
place,  see  what  Vallisneri  thinks  of  them.  He  shows  * 
that  the  notion  of  such  a  thing  as  a  petrification  of  the  brain 

V  took  its  rise  only  from  the  ignorance  of  a  Benedictine  friar ; 
he  states  that  he  has  seen  the  pretended  cerebral  petrifaction 
spoken  of  by  the  monk,  and  says,  that  it  is  no  brain;  he 

.farther  proves  that  these  masses  are  merely  bony  excrescences 
of  the  skull.  He  has  therefore  made  various  drawings  of 
the  brain  of  an  ox,  to  show  that  there  is  no  analogy  between 
the  protuberances  observable  on  these  excrescences  and  the 
convolutions  of  the  brain.    He  shows  that  an  excrescence  in 

,  his  own  possession  had  a  much  stronger  resemblance  to  the 
brain  of  an  ox,  than  that  which  Duverney  had  caused  to  be 
drawn.  He  consequently  reproaches  Duverney  with  his 
ignorance  in  thinking  that  he  and  Bartholin  had  alone  ob- 
served this  phenomenon,  and  expresses  the  greatest  amaze- 
ment that  the  Academy  of  Sciences  should  have  been  deceived 
by  that  which  Duverney  presented  as  an  ossified  brain.  He, 
moreover,  reproaches  Duverney  for  having  neglected  to  open 

*  Opere  Physico-Mediche.  Venezia,  1733,  t.  i.  Art.  CerTello  Tmpetrito. 


78 


PHRENOLOGY 


and  examine  the  interior  parts,  in  order  to  see  that  there  was 
no  vestige  of  cavities,  of  corpora  striata,  or  of  thalami;  and 
blames  his  credulity  in  supporting  his  assertion  only  by  the 
story  of  a  butcher. 

To  the  observations  of  Vallisneri,  it  may  be  added,  that 
the  part  on  the  surface,  called  pineal  gland  by  Duvemey,  is 
much  larger  than  the  pineal  gland  of  an  ox;  its  form  is  also 
quite  different ;  and,  finally,  it  is  situated  on  the  surface,  not 
interiorly,  as  is  the  case  in  nature.  In  the  same  manner  the 
part  which  he  considers  as  a  cerebellum  with  its  vermiform 
process  resembles  the  natural  cerebellum  in  nowise;  and 
Vallisneri  justly  remarks  that  Duvemey  would  have  found 
the  brain  as  well  as  the  bony  excrescence,  had  he  himself 
opened  the  head;  he  even  states  a  case  in  point  of  a  butcher 
of  Modena,  who,  by  proceeding  more  carefully,  found  both 
a  brain  and  a  bony  excrescence  of  the  skull. 

Messrs.  Giro  and  Moreschi,  maintain  that  they  saw  the 
centrum  ovale  of  Yieussens  in  the  bony  excrescence  which 
they  possess.  This  error  is  easily  explained:  for,  as  the 
brain,  when  cut  horizontally,  presents  a  large  white  surface, 
called  by  Vieussens  centrum  ovale,  so  these  bony  excrescences 
when  sawed  in  any  direction  whatever,  will  also  present  a 
white  surface  like  ivory,  and  this  they  have  considered  as  a 
centrum  ovale.  But  why  have  these  gentlemen  not  found 
the  ventricles,  the  thalami,  the  corpora  striata,  the  tubercula 
quadrigemina,  &c.  ?  That,  however,  which  is  most  incon- 
ceivable is,  that  they  found  no  vestige  of  nerves,  although 
the  ox  had  preserved  not  only  its  intellectual  faculties,  but 
also  its  five  external  senses!  Moreover,  the  cerebellum  of 
the  ossified  brain,  of  Moreschi  and  Griro,  presents  transverse 
and  parallel  rings  and  ridges,  but  the  natural  figure  of  the 
cerebellum  of  an  ox  is  altogether  different. 

Dr.  Simson  ^'  gives  an  account  and  the  drawing  of  the 
ossified  brain  of  a  cow  killed  at  Fettercairn,  a  village  in  the 
county  of  Angus,  in  Scotland.  He  allows  that  this  brain 
was  much  larger  than  the  natural  one;  that  the  cerebellum, 
in  particular,  was  six  times  bigger  than  usual ;  that  it  did  not 

*  In  an  inquiry  how  far  the  vital  and  animal  actions  are  dependent 
on  the  brain.    Edinburgh,  1752. 


FUNCTIONS  OF  THE  BRAIN 


79 


resemble  the  brain  of  an  ox  in  shape;  that  the  cerebellum 
was  far  above  its  ordinary  level,  and  much  misshapen;  he 
adds  that  one  small  end  was  quite  rough,  and  might  be  sus- 
pected of  having  been  joined  to,  and  broken  off  from  the 
skull.  Dr.  Simson,  however,  thought  it  was  the  brain 
ossified,  because  the  butcher  found  it  in  the  skull;  and 
because  he  to  whom  the  cow  belonged,  said  it  was  such. 
We  may  add  that  all  those  who  looked  upon  it,  saw  it  in  the 
same  light. 

Haller  *  observed  that  the  ossified  brain,  which  Bartholin 
speaks  of,  was  only  a  bony  excrescence.  Soemmerring  ad- 
vances the  same  opinion  as  ourselves,  viz.,  that  all  ossified 
brains,  as  they  are  called,  are  nothing  more  than  bony 
excrescences,  which  spring  from  the  internal  surface  of  the 
skull,  and  gradually  push  the  brain  from  its  place  without 
destroying  its  structure.  These  excrescences  are  sometimes 
seen  arising  from  the  external  as  well  as  from  the  internal 
surface  of  the  skull;  sometimes,  also,  from  both.  We  saw 
a  specimen  of  the  latter  kind  at  Goettingen,  which  Peter 
Frank  had  presented  to  the  university ;  and  in  the  anatomical 
collection  of  the  medical  school  at  Paris,  there  is  a  skull  with 
a  bony  mass  protruding  both  without  and  within.  The  ex- 
crescences are  sometimes  spongy,  soft,  and  smooth ;  but  more 
usually  solid,  hard,  and  uneven,  or  gibbous,  like  stalactites 
or  cauliflowers.  These  gibbosities  have  been  mistaken  by 
superficial  observers  for  convolutions  of  the  brain;  but  they 
really  present  nothing  analogous  to  such  as  are  found  in 
nature.  In  every  one  of  them  the  place  of  adhesion  to  the 
surface  of  the  skull  by  a  root  larger  or  smaller,  may  be  dis- 
tinguished, and  the  whole  mass  is  frequently  larger  than 
a  healthy  ox's  brain.  The  half  of  such  a  fancied  petrified 
brain,  shown  to  us  by  Professor  Bonn,  of  Amsterdam,  was 
larger  than  a  whole  natural  brain. 

As  to  the  influence  of  these  bony  excrescences  upon  the 
cerebral  functions,  it  is  certain,  that  notwithstanding  their 
existence,  men  and  animals  can  live  for  many  years,  and 


*Phy.  t.  iv.  p.  356. 


80 


PHRENOLOGY 


manifest  various  faculties.  It  is,  however,  improbable  that 
the  faculties  suffer  no  derangement  from  their  presence;  as 
in  all  examples,  except  that  cited  by  Duverney,  which  he 
himself  did  not  see,  the  same  symptoms  have  been  remarked 
which  take  place  when  the  brain  is  compressed  from  any 
other  cause.  The  cow,  of  which  Dr.  Simson  speaks,  ate  and 
drank,  saw  and  heard,  as  well  as  another  animal  of  the  kind, 
but  she  had  a  difficulty  of  breathing,  which  made  her  snort 
in  her  sleep ;  and  instead  of  getting  flesh,  when  she  was  fed 
to  be  slaughtered,  she  rather  pined  away  and  became  leaner. 
The  pressure  in  such  cases  does  the  less  harm,  because  the 
excrescence  grows  very  slowly.  Although  I  have  not  yet 
had  an  opportunity  of  observing  one,  I  think  it  very  probable 
that  the  brain  is  not  compressed  in  proportion  as  the  bony 
excrescence  increases,  but  that  the  cavities  of  the  skull  be- 
come larger  by  degrees,  just  as  happens  in  dropsy  of  the 
brain.  ^Tiatever  then  has  been  said  regarding  ossified 
brains,  must  be  attributed  to  ignorance  of  anatomy  and 
physiology.  Some  share  of  the  blame  may  also  attach  to 
inaccurate  observations,  and  excessive  love  of  the  marvellous. 
I  repeat  here  what  Gall  and  I  have  always  said,  that  if  ever  a 
brain  be  ossified,  and  the  animal  preserve  its  intellectual 
faculties,  we  shall  be  the  first  to  declare  our  doctrine  of  the 
functions  of  the  brain  purely  chimerical  fabrication. 

IV.  Metapliysicians. 

Metaphysicians  are  pleased  to  say  that  the  mind  acts 
independently  of  organization,  and  adduce,  in  support  of 
their  opinion,  the  fact  of  the  mind's  having  no  consciousness 
of  the  organic  conditions  which  Phrenology  assigns  as 
necessary  to  its  manifestation. 

It  is  allowed,  that  the  mind  does  not  know,  by  intuition, 
that  its  operations  are  performed  by  means  of  the  cerebral 
organization ;  but  it  is  a  general  truth  that  the  mind  requires 
to  observe  the  instruments  of  its  actions,  in  order  to  know 
them.  Voluntary  motion  is  impossible  without  nerves  and 
muscles,  but  the  mind  in  itself  has  no  consciousness  of  the 
existence  of  these  organs.    In  the  same  way  the  external 


SIZE  OF  THE  BRAIN 


81 


senses  cannot  exist  without  the  respective  nerves  of  each; 
the  mind  cannot  see  without  eyes,  nor  hear  without  ears, 
but  it  becomes  acquainted  with  these  nervous  apparatuses  or 
instruments  only  by  observation.  In  precisely  the  same  man- 
ner it  is,  that  the  mind  knows  the  instruments  of  its  affective 
and  intellectual  operations:  by  observation  alone.  Thus, 
the  arguments  of  the  metaphysicians  against  the  dependence 
of  the  mental  functions  on  the  brain  are  unsound,  and  leave 
the  first  principle  of  Phrenology:  the  brain  is  the  organ  of 
the  mind,  in  its  original  integrity. 


CHAPTER  II. 

Of  the  absolute  Size  of  the  Brain. 

The  greater  number  of  natural  philosophers,  convinced 
that  the  brain  is  the  organ  of  understanding,  have  concluded 
that  its  functions  must  be  proportionate  to  its  size.  The 
brain  of  man  was  found  to  be  larger  than  that  of  the  ma- 
jority of  tame  animals,  and,  without  a  more  strict  examina- 
tion of  living  beings,  man's  superiority  was  at  once  attributed 
to  the  greater  absolute  size  of  his  brain;  Erasistratus, 
Aristotle,  Pliny,  Galen,  Portal,*  and  others,  have  therefore 
said,  that  man  has  the  largest  brain  of  all  animals.  Modern 
discoveries,  however,  have  shown  that  whales  and  elephants 
have  larger  brains  than  man;  and  those  who  measure  the 
faculties  of  animal  life  according  to  the  absolute  size  of  the 
brain,  are  thereby  proved  to  be  in  error;  for  whatever  the 
understanding  of  the  elephant  may  be,  and  with  whatever 
justice  the  whale  be  declared  king  of  the  ocean,  no  one  will 
attribute  either  to  the  one  or  to  the  other  the  superior 
faculties  which  constitute  the  distinguishing  character  of 
man.  Besides,  when  we  study  nature  more  closely,  we  find 
the  brain  in  the  monkey  and  dog  smaller  than  in  the  ox,  ass, 
and  hog,  yet  the  former  approach  much  nearer  to  man  in 


*  Anatomie  Medicale,  t.  iv.  p.  30. 


8$ 


PHRENOLOGY 


intellectual  endowments  than  the  latter.  Moreover,  many 
animals,  as  the  wolf,  tiger,  sheep,  and  roe,  may  be  ranged  in 
the  same  class,  the  size  of  their  brain  alone  considered;  yet 
their  dispositions  are  very  different,  and  often  opposite.  It 
is  the  same  with  the  sparrow-hawk,  cock,  and  pigeon.  Finally, 
we  see  that  very  small  brains  produce  the  most  surprising 
^effects.  Observe  the  honey-bee  and  the  ant,  contemplate  the 
economy  of  their  dwellings,  their  local  memory,  the  care 
they  take  of  their  progeny,  their  anger  and  revenge,  and 
their  natural  language!  Is  there  anything  more  curious 
than  the  conic  hole  of  the  pyrmicoleon,  or  the  web  of  the 
spider  ?  Do  we  not  observe  the  jealousy  of  the  stag  in  the 
cock;  the  propensity  to  fight  of  the  wild  boar  in  the  red- 
breast, in  the  wren,  &c.  ?  And  if  the  absolute  size  of  the 
cerebral  mass  were  a  sufficient  measure  of  the  affective  and 
the  intellectual  faculties,  ought  not  all  animals,  which  have 
the  same  quantity  of  brain,  to  manifest  absolutely  the  same 
faculties?  It  would  then  be  inexplicable  why  one  tribe  of 
animals  lives  in  society,  another  in  solitude;  why  one  takes 
care  of  its  progeny,  and  another  does  not ;  why  one  constructs, 
another  sings,  &c.  I^ay,  more  than  this,  I  may  state  that 
it  is  not  possible  even  to  measure  the  faculties  in  individuals 
of  the  same  kind  according  to  the  absolute  size  of  the  brain. 
Such  views  show  that  we  must  search  for  another  measure 
of  the  faculties  of  the  mind  than  the  absolute  size  of  its 
organ. 


CHAPTER  III. 

Of  the  Size  of  the  Brain  compared  with  that  of  the  Body, 
and  with  iJiat  of  the  Nerves. 

The  brain  of  the  elephant  and  whale  is  greater  than  that 
of  man,  but  their  bodies  are  also  much  larger.  This  view 
seemed  to  prove  the  superiority  of  the  human  brain,  and 
anatomists  now  said  not  that  man  had  absolutely  the  largest 
brain,  but  that  he  had  the  largest  brain  in  proportion  to  his 
body.  All  nerves  being  considered  as  prolongations  of  the 
cerebral  mass  and  proportionate  to  the  body,  the  moral  and 


SIZE  OF  THE  BRAIN 


83 


intellectual  superiority  of  man  was  naturally  supposed  to 
be  indicated  by  the  size  of  the  brain,  compared  with  that  of 
the  body.  A  large  body  will  require  the  greater  part  of  the 
brain  and  nervous  system  to  be  employed  in  its  functions, 
and  there  will  then  remain  a  small  portion  for  the  exhibition 
of  superior  faculties. 

The  brains  of  reptiles  and  fishes  are  very  small  in  propor- 
tion to  their  bodies.  A  crocodile  of  twelve,  a  serpent  of 
eighteen  feet,  and  a  turtle  of  a  couple  of  cwts.,  have  brains 
that  scarcely  weigh  one  drachm  each.  There  are  insects  in 
which  the  nerve  of  a  single  sense  exceeds  the  size  of  their 
brain.  The  brain  of  the  great  eagle  of  the  x\lps  (Lsemmer- 
geyer)  is  almost  as  small  as  that  of  the  raven,  and  the  turkey- 
cock  has  no  greater  mass  of  brain  than  the  parrot  or  crow. 
These  facts  afforded  the  inference  that  the  faculties  are  in 
the  ratio  of  the  brain  to  the  body. 

This  conclusion,  however,  was  too  hastily  drawn,  and  was 
not  grounded  upon  a  sufficient  number  of  observations; 
Wrisberg,  Soemmerring,  Blumenbach,  Cuvier,  and  other 
anatomists,  on  putting  the  principle  to  the  test,  found  that 
the  sparrow,  canary-bird,  linnet,  red-breast,  bulfinch,  and 
several  species  of  monkeys,  have  in  proportion  to  their  bodies 
more  brain  than  man.  The  intellectual  faculties  of  these 
animals  ought,  therefore,  to  surpass  those  of  man;  and  the 
rat  and  the  mouse  ought  to  have  more  understanding  than 
the  horse,  stag,  dog,  and  elephant,  because  the  former, 
proportionately  to  their  bodies,  have  a  more  considerable 
quantity  of  brain.  Were  such  a  principle  true,  there  should 
exist  no  difference  in  the  faculties  of  different  species  of 
animals,  whose  brains  bear  a  like  relative  proportion  to  their 
bodies.  Moreover,  it  would  be  very  difficult  to  determine 
the  exact  ratio  of  the  brain  to  the  body  and  to  the  nerves 
in  all  cases.  The  proportions  stated  by  Cuvier  for  man  are 
evidently  incorrect.  In  adults,  he  says,  it  is  as  one  to 
thirty-five.  Our  observations  lead  us  to  conclude,  that  the 
proportion  of  one  to  forty,  or  fifty,  or  even  sixty,  is  more 
general.  For,  suppose  a  grown-up  man  to  weigh  only  a 
hundred  and  twenty,  and  his  brain  from  two  to  three  pounds. 


84 


PHRENOLOGY 


the  proportion  fixed  by  Cuvier  will  be  inexact.  Besides,  this 
anatomist  does  not  say  how  he  separated  the  brain  from  its 
connexions;  what  portions  of  the  nerves  and  membranes  he 
left;  whether  the  blood-vessels  were  empty  or  full;  nor  the 
age  of  the  subjects  of  his  comparisons. 

Haller  remarked  that  children  had  a  larger  brain  than 
^  adults  in  proportion  to  their  body,  and  consequently  that, 
if  faculties  were  measurable  by  the  proportionate  size  of  the 
brain,  they  ought  to  excel  grown  up  persons  in  understanding. 
It  may,  however,  be  replied,  that  the  brain  of  children  is  not 
perfectly  developed,  and  is,  therefore,  unfit  to  manifest  the 
intellectual  faculties.  Haller  farther  observed,  and  Soem- 
merring  and  Cuvier  repeat  after  him,  that  it  is  very  difiicult 
to  determine  the  proportion  of  the  brain  to  the  body,  because 
the  body  grows  lean  or  fat,  and  augments  or  diminishes  by 
half  its  weight,  while  the  brain  undergoes  no  change.  The 
latter  part  of  this  proposition  is  refuted  by  experience;  for 
though  no  adipose  substance  be  deposited  in  the  brain  more 
than  in  the  lungs,  it  still  participates  in  the  nutrition  of  the 
body  as  well  as  every  other  organic  part,  and,  therefore,  its 
convolutions  are  more  plimip  and  more  closely  packed 
together,  and  the  whole  brain  is  heavier  in  well-nourished 
men  and  animals,  in  the  flower  of  youth  and  vigor,  than  in 
the  old,  lean,  and  emaciated,  or  in  those  who  have  died  of 
hunger  or  of  lingering  diseases.  Gall  and  I  have  given  some 
attention  to  this  point.  The  results  of  our  observations  are 
as  I  have  just  stated  them.  Haller's  remarks  would  not 
suffice,  therefore,  to  refute  the  idea  of  estimating  the  mental 
faculties  according  to  the  proportionate  size  of  the  brain. 

Wrisberg  and  Soemmerring  thought  they  might  proceed 
in  a  surer  way,  if  they  determined  the  faculties  according 
to  the  proportion  betwixt  the  brain  and  the  nerves :  for  these, 
they  saw,  were  much  more  considerable  in  many  animals  than 
in  man.  But  neither  is  the  ratio  in  this  case  universal.  The 
seal,  in  proportion  to  its  nerves,  has  a  larger  brain  than  the 
house-dog,  and  the  porpoise  more  than  the  ourang-outang ; 
yet  we  do  not  perceive  a  corresponding  ratio  in  the  faculties 
of  these  animals. 


SIZE  OF  THE  BRAIN 


85 


Comparisons  of  the  brain  with  the  spinal  marrow,  insti- 
tuted bj  Soemmerring,  Ebel,  and  Cuvier,*  are  not  more 
valuable  or  satisfactory  than  the  others  I  have  mentioned. 
Cuvier  himself  quotes  exceptions;  in  the  porpoise,  for  in- 
stance. Mr.  de  Blanville,  too,  is  wrong  in  saying  that  the 
size  of  the  occipital  hole  of  the  skull  indicates  the  proportion 
of  the  spinal  marrow  to  the  brain.  The  occipital  hole  bears 
relation  to  the  medulla  oblongata,  and  by  no  means  to  the 
spinal  marrow.  Besides,  there  is  no  fixed  proportion  be- 
tween the  spinal  marrow,  nor  even  the  occipital  hole,  and  the 
brain;  this  may  be  large,  and  the  occipital  hole  and  the 
spinal  marrow  small,  or  vice  versa;  a  case  which  happens 
not  only  in  different  species  of  animals,  but  even  in  different 
individuals  of  the  same  species.  ITeither  could  this  propor- 
tion, did  it  exist,  be  known  during  life.  It  would,  conse- 
quently, be  useless  in  anthropological  investigations. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Of  the  Facial  Angle  of  Camper:  of  the  Occipital  Angle  of 
Dauhenton ;  and  the  Size  of  the  Brain  in  proportion  to 
the  Face  and  Nech, 

In^  order  to  measure  the  extent  of  the  brain  and,  as  he 
imagined,  the  corresponding  energy  of  the  intellectual  facul- 
ties. Camper  drew  a  line  touching  the  most  prominent  part 
of  the  forehead  and  the  upper  lip,  and  another  from  the 
orifice  of  the  external  ear  to  the  end  of  the  upper  front  teeth, 
and  measuring  the  angle  at  the  intersection  of  the  two  lines, 
he  concluded,  that  the  more  it  was  obtuse,  the  higher  were  the 
intellectual  faculties,  and  the  more  acute  the  angle,  the 
more  stupid  the  individual.  Lavater,  Cuvier,  Richerand, 
and  a  great  number  of  anatomists  and  physiologists,  approve 
of  this  facial  angle,  as  it  is  called.  Lavater's  well-known 
progressive  scale  of  heads,  from  the  frog  to  the  Apollo  Belvi- 


*  Lemons  d'Anatomie  comparee,  t.  ii.  p.  150. 


86 


PHRENOLOGY 


dere,  was  composed  from  the  idea  it  gave.  Cuvier  also 
arranged  several  tables,  indicative  of  the  facial  angles  of 
men  and  different  animals;  he  fixed  that  of  Europeans  at 
ninety  degrees  in  infancy,  at  eighty-five  in  an  adult,  and  in 
an  old  decrepit  man  as  fifty  degrees.  This  manner,  however, 
of  measuring  the  intellectual  faculties  is  not  more  correct 
than  those  I  have  already  mentioned.  The  facial  angle 
applies  only  to  the  parts  of  the  brain  situated  in  the  forehead, 
and  is  inapplicable  to  all  the  lateral  and  posterior  organs: 
hence  the  facial  angle  could  even,  if  there  were  no  other 
objection,  indicate  those  faculties  only,  whose  organs  consti- 
tute the  forehead.  Besides,  it  is  quite  impossible  to  deter- 
mine, in  a  general  way,  the  proportion  of  the  forehead  to 
the  face.  In  new-born  children  the  forehead  is  flat;  but 
from  three  months  to  eight  or  ten  years  of  age,  it  is  ordinarily 
prominent,  and  forms  a  more  obtuse  angle  than  at  birth,  or 
in  the  adult.  Hence  Cuvier  errs  in  saying  that  the  facial 
angle  decreases  in  proportion  as  the  child  advances  in  age. 
Even  if  this  were  the  fact,  it  would  only  be  possible  to  say 
that  the  facial  angle  will  be  of  so  many  degrees  in  grown-up 
and  in  old  persons,  when  its  amount  in  infancy  is  known. 
But  it  is  utterly  impossible  to  draw  general  conclusions  from 
individual  cases,  and,  among  a  hundred  persons,  no  two  have 
the  facial  angle  alike.  Yet,  Cuvier  would  have  us  believe, 
that  all  children,  all  grown-up,  and  all  old  Europeans,  ought 
to  have  precisely  the  same  proportion  of  brain  to  the  face. 
Iforeover,  this  facial  angle  is  useless,  when  we  come  to 
creatures  lower  in  the  scale  than  man;  for  Blumenbach  has 
observed  that  three-fourths  of  all  known  animals  have  nearly 
the  same  facial  angle,  and  are,  nevertheless,  endowed  with 
very  different  and  opposite  propensities.  Finally,  Cuvier 
himself  has  remarked  that  the  brain  is  not  placed  close  to  the 
external  forehead  in  all  animals,  but  that  in  a  great  number 
the  two  plates  of  the  skull  being  separated,  the  brain  lies 
at  a  considerable  depth  beneath.  This  occurs  not  only  among 
the  lower  animals,  but  also  in  the  aged  of  the  human  kind, 
between  the  two  plates  of  whose  skulls  there  is  often  a  con- 
siderable space.    In  hogs,  the  brain  lies  one  inch,  and  in  the 


SIZE  OF  THE  BRAIN 


87 


elephant  thirteen  inches  deeper  than  is  indicated  by  the 
external  table  of  the  skull.  Cuvier,  to  overcome  this  obstacle 
to  precise  observation,  draws  the  tangent  or  vertical  line  from 
the  internal  plate.  In  many  animals,  as  in  some  varieties 
of  the  cat  tribes  and  of  the  rodentia,  the  brain  inclines  so 
much  downwards  behind  and  under  the  frontal  sinus,  that  it 
becomes  impossible  to  draw  a  facial  angle  from  the  most 
prominent  point  of  the  forehead. 

The  facial  angle  is,  moreover,  a  very  imperfect  means  of 
estimating  the  faculties  of  man.  We  have  seen  negroes  with 
extremely  prominent  jaw-bones,  manifest  great  intellectual 
faculties,  because  their  foreheads  were  large.  Their  facial 
angle,  however,  would  have  made  them  inferior  to  many 
stupid  Europeans,  whose  foreheads  are  small,  but  whose 
jaws  project  little.  From  all  these  considerations  it  follows, 
that  the  facial  angle,  as  a  means  of  measuring  the  moral 
sentiments  and  intellectual  faculties,  is  perfectly  useless. 

Daubenton's  occipital  angle  is  formed  by  a  horizontal  line, 
drawn  from  the  floor  of  the  orbit,  to  the  posterior  edge  of  the 
occipital  foramen,  and  a  vertical  line  cutting  this  and  passing 
between  the  condyles  over  the  surface  of  the  occiput.  'Row 
this  occipital  angle  according  to  the  observation  of  Blumen- 
bach,  measures  from  eighty  to  ninety  degrees  in  all  animals, 
and,  consequently,  does  not  differ  proportionately  to  their 
varied  faculties.  The  occipital  angle  would  also  indicate 
the  developement  of  the  occiput  only,  and  not  of  the  lateral 
and  superior  parts  of  the  brain;  this  alone  is  sufficient  to 
prove  its  inutility. 

Some  physiologists,  as  Soemmerring  and  Cuvier,  have 
compared  the  size  of  the  brain  in  general  with  the  state  of 
the  face;  and,  according  to  them,  animals  are  stupid  as  the 
face  is  large  in  proportion  to  the  brain.  Cuvier  calls  the 
senses  of  smell  and  taste  whose  apparatus  occupies  a  principal 
part  of  the  face,  the  most  brutish  functions.  Cuvier  saws 
the  skull  vertically  and  longitudinally,  in  order  to  compare 
with  ease,  the  area  of  the  cerebral  cavity  with  the  the  size 
of  the  face. 

Ancient  artists  appear  to  have  observed     certain  proper- 


88 


PHRENOLOGY 


tion  between  the  forehead  and  the  face ;  their  statues  of  high- 
priests,  sacrificators,  demi-gods,  gods,  and  especially  of 
Jupiter,  have  large,  high,  and  vaulted  foreheads.  The  su- 
periority, however,  of  the  intellectual  faculties,  does  not 
result  from  the  proportion  of  the  forehead  to  the  face,  but 
from  the  developement  of  the  forehead  itself.  There  have 
been  great  men  with  large  faces,  and  very  prominent  jaw- 
bones. Leo  X.,  Montaigne,  Leibnitz,  Ilaller,  Mirabeau,  &c., 
had  large  faces  and  very  considerable  brains.  Bossuet,  Vol- 
taire, and  Kant,  had,  on  the  contrary,  small  faces  and  large 
brains.  Soemmerring  errs,  also,  in  saying  that  the  skulls  of 
women  are  larger  in  proportion  to  their  face,  than  those  of 
men.  The  idea,  too,  is  evidently  incorrect  as  regards  many 
animals ;  for  the  face  of  the  sloth  and  seal  is  to  their  brain, 
smaller  than  that  of  the  stag,  horse,  and  ox ;  yet  no  one  will 
maintain  that  the  former  animals  excel  the  latter  in  intel- 
lectual faculties.  Finally,  the  notion  is  inapplicable  to 
birds,  as  Cuvier  himself  allows. 

Plato  in  ancient  times,  and  Bichat  and  Bicherand  in  our 
days,  have  maintained  that  there  is  a  proportion  between  the 
intellectual  faculties  and  the  length  of  the  neck.  According 
to  them,  the  intellectual  faculties  are  weaker  the  longer  the 
neck  is,  because  the  brain  is  more  removed  from  the  heart, 
and  consequently  is  less  excited  by  the  blood.  This  assertion 
is  too  evidently  opposed  to  all  natural  history  and  physiology, 
to  render  any  demonstration  of  its  falsehood  necessary. 


CHAPTER  V. 

On  the  Cerebral  Parts  compared  with  one  another. 

The  cerebral  parts  have  also  been  compared  with  each 
other  for  the  purpose  of  detecting  their  functions.  Cuvier 
says  *  that  it  is  possible  to  determine  the  exact  proportion 
of  the  cerebellum  to  the  brain,  because  health  and  disease 

*Loc.  cit.  p.  152. 


PLURALITY  OF  THE  CEREBRAL  ORGANS  89 


produce  no  change  upon  the  cerebral  mass,  and  he  has  com- 
posed several  tables  illustrative  of  this  point.  He  finds  the 
proportion  of  the  cerebellum  to  the  brain,  to  be  in  man  as 
one  to  nine;  in  the  saimiri  as  one  to  fourteen;  in  the  ox  as 
one  to  nine,  &c.  l^ow,  even  these  few  examples  prove  that 
the  intellectual  faculties  cannot  be  measured  by  the  propor- 
tion v^^hich  the  cerebellum  bears  to  the  brain ;  for  if,  according 
to  the  opinion  of  Malacarne,  the  cerebellum  were  the  organ 
of  understanding,  the  saimiri  ought  to  have  more  intellect 
than  man;  if  the  brain  be  the  organ  of  the  feeling  and 
intellectual  faculties,  which  is  our  doctrine,  the  saimiri  ought 
to  have  less  of  these  than  the  ox,  and  the  ox  be  upon  a  par 
with  the  human  kind. 

It  does  not  appear  necessary  that  the  brain,  or  its  parts, 
should  always  participate  in  the  healthy  and  diseased  states 
of  the  rest  of  the  body ;  for,  why  should  not  that  happen  with 
the  cerebral  parts,  which  occurs  in  other  organs  ?  every  organ 
of  sense,  and  every  viscus  may  fall  separately  into  disease, 
and  the  rest  of  the  body  remain  in  health.  In  the  same  way, 
each  cerebral  part  may  be  diseased  individually.  Even  in 
admitting  that  the  whole  brain  is  equally  influenced  by  the 
healthy  or  diseased  state  of  the  body,  it  may  still  be  asked, 
whether  there  be  any  determinate  proportion  between  the 
brain  and  the  cerebellum,  and  any  between  the  particular 
parts  of  the  brain  ?  The  answer  must  be  affirmative  in  one 
respect,  and  negative  in  another.  The  constituent  parts  of 
every  organ  are  proportionate  to  each  other,  as  the  cineritious 
and  white  substances,  the  different  apparatuses  of  increase, 
the  ganglia,  and  the  number  of  fibres  which  spring  out  of 
them;  but  the  different  cerebral  systems,  constituting  the 
particular  organs  which  manifest  determinate  faculties,  are 
in  no  constant  proportion  to  each  other.  There  are  large 
brains  joined  to  small  cerebella,  and  vice  versa.  The  cere- 
bellum in  youth  is  smaller  in  proportion  to  the  brain,  than 
it  is  in  mature  years.  Sometimes  one,  sometimes  another 
part  of  the  brain,  sometimes  the  forehead,  sometimes  the 
posterior  part  is  most  developed.  The  proportions  of  the 
particular  cerebral  parts  to  each  other  are  the  more  varied. 


90 


PHRENOLOGY 


the  more  numerous  they  are.  Hence,  the  almost  infinite 
variety  of  size  and  form  of  head  observable  in  the  human 
species.  Soemmerring,  therefore,  errs  in  saying  that  in 
sound  brains,  the  position  and  mutual  connexion  of  all  the 
cerebral  parts  are  invariable,  and  that  no  considerable  differ- 
ence in  form  and  size  is  to  be  seen  among  the  brains  of 
different  men. 

Erom  the  preceding  considerations,  it  follows,  that  the 
faculties  of  the  mind  cannot  be  determined,  either  from  the 
form  and  size  of  the  whole  head,  or  from  comparisons  of 
one  part  with  another.  Another  series  of  observations,  then, 
is  necessary  in  order  to  point -out  the  relations  between  the 
mind  and  the  brain.  I  finish  this  section  by  stating  that 
the  details  of  the  three  preceding  sections,  have  been  greatly 
elaborated  and  cleared  up,  whilst  Gall  and  I  lived  together 
in  Paris,  and  that  their  elucidation  must  be  considered  as 
the  result  of  our  common  exertions  and  reflections.  The 
reader  may  perceive  the  truth  of  this  fact,  in  comparing  the 
words  of  the  hearers  of  Gall,  in  1807  and  later,  to  1810, 
with  our  own  publications. 


SECTION  IV. 

The  Brain  is  an  aggregate  of  Organs. 

The  brain  is  exclusively  the  organ  of  the  manifestations 
of  the  mind;  but  it  remains  for  us  to  investigate,  whether 
the  whole  of  that  viscus  is  to  be  considered  as  one  single 
organ,  or  as  an  aggregate  of  as  many  particular  and  inde- 
pendent organs,  as  there  are  particular  and  independent 
species  of  manifestations  of  the  mind.  On  this  subject, 
philosophical  writings  contain  the  most  absurd  and  contra- 
dictory opinions.  Those,  who  believe  in  the  singleness  of 
the  soul,  conclude  that  its  organ  must  be  single  also ;  others, 
who  examine  the  particular  faculties  of  the  soul,  maintain 
that  every  special  faculty  must  appertain  to  a  particular 
organ. 


PLURALITY  OF  THE  CEREBRAL  ORGANS 


91 


As  soon  as  philosophers  began  to  pay  attention  to  the 
beings  of  nature,  it  became  necessary  to  divide  them  into 
numerous  classes.  Moses  speaks  of  the  brutes  which  live  and 
feel,  and  those  which  reason.  The  Greek  philosophers,  call- 
ing the  cause  of  every  phenomenon — soul,  spoke  of  a  soul  of 
plants,  a  soul  of  animals,  and  a  soul  of  man.  They  also 
admitted  a  vegetative  and  a  sensitive  soul.  The  inclinations 
were  regarded  as  the  result  of  the  animus^  and  the  intellect 
and  reason  as  the  apanage  of  the  mens.  Pythagoras,  St. 
Paul,  Galen,  Gilbert,  Gassendi,  Bacon,  Van  Helmont, 
Wepfer,  Leibnitz,  Fr.  Hoffmann,  Haller,  Blumenbach, 
Soemmerring,  Eeil,  Barthez,  &c.,  all  suppose  the  various  phe- 
nomena of  animals  and  man,  as  dependent  on  the  existence 
of  different  causes.  Plato  and  several  ancient  writers  speak 
of  an  unreasonable  and  of  a  reasonable  soul.  Those  who 
admit  only  one  soul  in  man,  as  Anaxagoras,  Aristotle, 
Thomas  Aquinas,  Descartes,  Stahl,  &c.,  are  obliged  to 
acknowledge  it  possessed  of,  at  least,  several  faculties.  St. 
Augustin,  determined  with  great  exactness  the  faculties 
which  are  common  to  man  and  animal,  and  those  which  are 
proper  to  man.  Malebranche,  and  many  other  philosophers, 
speak  of  principal  and  secondary  faculties;  the  principal, 
are  understanding  and  will;  the  secondary,  are  subdivisions 
of  understanding :  perception,  memory,  judgment,  and  imag- 
ination; and  of  will:  inclination,  desire,  affections,  and 
passions.  Some  authors  have  even  further  subdivided  these 
special  faculties ;  Vieussens  speaks  of  two  kinds  of  imagina- 
tion; and  others  admit  several  kinds  of  memory,  as  a  local 
memory,  a  verbal  memory,  a  memory  of  facts,  and  a  memory 
of  time.  Thus  it  is  clear  that  various  principles,  or  various 
faculties  of  the  same  principle,  have  been  admitted  at  all 
times  to  account  for  the  phenomena  of  mind. 

As  the  principles  or  the  faculties  came  to  be  divided  and 
subdivided,  so  different  seats  were  also  assigned  to  them.  The 
rational  soul  was  placed  in  the  head,  the  irrational,  in  the 
viscera  of  the  abdomen.  The  ventricles  of  the  brain  have, 
at  all  times,  been  considered  as  of  prime  importance;  the 
Arabs  placed  common  sense  in  the  anterior  cavity,  imagina- 


92 


PHRENOLOGY 


tion  in  the  second,  judgment  in  the  third,  and  memory  in  the 
fourth.  Tor  several  centuries  the  brain  was  considered  as 
the  organ  of  perception,  and  the  cerebellum,  as  the  organ  of 
memory,  the  strength  of  which  was  supposed  to  be  indicated 
by  the  protuberance  of  the  occiput.  St.  Gregorius  I^Tyssenus, 
that  he  might  explain  why  the  functions  of  the  mind  are  not 
troubled,  although  the  different  senses  propagate  different 
impressions,  compares  the  brain  to  a  town  with  several  en- 
trances and  a  great  number  of  streets,  by  means  of  which  it 
is  possible  to  arrive  at  the  same  point.  E'enesius,  the  first 
bishop  of  Emesa,  in  the  reign  of  Theodosius,  taught,  that 
sensation  has  its  seat  in  the  anterior,  memory  in  the  middle, 
and  understanding  in  the  posterior  ventricles.  Albertus 
Magnus,  archbishop  of  Ratisbon,  in  the  thirteenth  century, 
delineated  a  head,  on  which  he  indicated  the  seats  of  different 
faculties  of  the  mind.  He  placed  common  sense  in  the  fore- 
head, or  in  the  first  ventricle  of  the  brain,  cogitation  and 
jiidgment  in  the  second,  and  memory  and  the  moving  power 
in  the  third.  Peter  de  Montagnana,  in  1491,  published  a 
drawing  of  a  head,  on  which  the  seat  of  sensus  communis, 
of  the  cellula  imaginativa,  cellula  sestimativa  seu  cogitativa, 
cellula  memorativa,  and  cellula  rationalis  were  exhibited. 
Bernard  Gordon,  Lodovico  Dolci  and  several  other  writers, 
published  similar  delineations,  and  placed  common  sense  in 
the  forehead;  and  imagination  behind  it.  According  to 
Dolci,  understanding  was  in  the  cerebellum,  and  memory 
occupied  a  lower  seat  in  the  neck.  Bernard  Gordon  placed 
the  cellula  cogitativa  at  the  vertex.  According  to  Serveto, 
the  anterior  ventricles  receive  the  images  on  impressions  from 
without;  the  third  ventricle  is  the  seat  of  thought,  the 
aqueduct  of  Sylvius  of  the  soul,  and  the  fourth  ventricle  of 
memory.  Willis  considered  the  corpora  striata  to  be  the 
seat  of  sensation  and  attention;  the  medullary  matter,  of 
memory;  the  corpus  callosum,  of  reflection;  whilst  the  mov- 
ing spirits  emanated  from  the  cerebellum. 

Charles  Bonnet  regarded  each  fibre  of  the  brain  as  a  par- 
ticular organ  of  the  soul.  Boerhaave  said,  that  imagination 
and  judgment  must  be  attached  to  different  seats,  because  the 


PLURALITY  OF  THE  CEREBRAL  ORGANS 


93 


former  was  active  in  dreaming,  the  latter  in  watching.  Hal- 
ler  and  Van  Swieten  fancied  that  the  internal  senses 
occupied  different  places  of  the  brain;  but  they  considered 
its  organization  as  too  complicated,  too  intricate,  and  too 
difficult  of  investigation,  to  permit  us  to  hope  that  we  should 
ever  be  able  to  point  out  the  seat  of  memory,  of  judgment, 
or  of  imagination.  Professor  Mayer,  of  Frankfort  on  the 
Oder,  thought  it  probable  that  the  soul  exercised  its  different 
faculties  in  different  parts  of  the  brain.  He  examined  the 
subject,  with  details,  proved  that  the  plurality  of  organs  is 
necessary,  and  was  disposed  to  look  on  the  cineritious  sub- 
stance as  the  organ  of  memory,  and  on  the  cerebellum  as  the 
instrument  of  abstract  ideas.  Prochaska  believed  it  more 
than  probable  that  each  internal  sense  was  attached  to  a 
particular  organ.  Platner  spoke  of  two  organs  of  the  soul, 
a  superior  and  an  inferior.  Malacarne  could  not  imagine 
the  medullary  substance  of  the  brain  as  everywhere  adapted 
to  receive  the  same  impressions;  he  denied  the  central  point 
of  the  nerves,  considered  the  cerebellum  as  the  seat  of  the 
intellectual  faculties,  whose  strength  he  estimated  according 
to  the  number  of  lamellae  of  which  this  part  was  composed. 
Tiedemann,  Wrisberg,  Soemmerring,  and  an  immense  num- 
ber of  physiologists  and  philosophers,  have  admitted  a 
plurality  of  organs,  and  maintained  that  different  parts  of 
the  brain  were  destined  to  dissimilar  functions. 

These  quotations,  which  might  be  greatly  multiplied,  show 
that  the  idea  of  a  plurality  of  mental  organs  as  well  as  facul- 
ties is  very  old,  and  that  they  who  call  it  an  invention  of 
Gall  are  in  error. 

Let  us  then  examine  in  a  general  way  the  proofs  which 
must  convince  every  reflective  mind  that  the  brain  is  a 
congeries  or  aggregate  of  different  organs. 

It  is  a  general  observation  that  nature,  to  produce  dis- 
similar effects,  has  varied  the  material  condition  of  bodies. 


*  Van  Swieten,  t.  ii.  p.  454.  '  Quis  memoriae  et  rationis  sedem  in  hoc 
mirabili  et  intricatissimo  organo  determinare  poterit  ? ' 


94 


PHRENOLOGY 


This  is  seen  throughout  the  world;  every  salt  and  every 
metal  has  its  own  crystallization ;  every  plant  has  its  particu- 
lar structure;  even  the  parts  of  the  same  tree  performing 
different  offices,  as  wood,  bark,  leaves,  flowers,  and  fruit, 
have  varying  qualities.  The  organization  of  every  variety 
of  animal,  and  of  every  part  of  the  same  animal,  is  also 
modified;  there  is  a  particular  organ  for  every  function: 
the  liver  for  the  secretion  of  bile,  the  heart  for  circulation, 
and  the  lungs  for  respiration.  The  five  external  senses  are 
separate  and  independent  of  each  other.  There  are  special 
nerves  for  voluntary  motion,  and  others  for  each  sort  of  sensa- 
tion. Hence,  nature  is  not  so  strongly  attached  to  simplicity 
and  unity  as  certain  speculative  philosophers  are  pleased  to 
maintain.  This  plurality  and  independent  existence  of  the 
organs  of  automatic  life  and  the  external  senses,  renders  it 
probable  that  the  different  internal  sensations  and  functions 
of  the  mind,  are  also  manifested  by  different  organs. 

Besides  analogy  there  are  still  other  proofs  of  this  fur- 
nished by  the  psychology  of  animals  and  man  in  the  state 
of  health  and  disease.  The  brains  of  different  animals 
should  be  different,  because  their  faculties  vary.  The  beaver 
which  builds  a  hut,  the  dog  which  hunts,  the  blackbird  which 
sings,  the  swallow  which  migrates,  must  have  brains  whose 
organization  differs  widely.  Thus  it  is  not  a  matter  of  indif- 
ference to  have  a  brain  of  this  or  of  that  kind.  Even 
individuals  of  the  same  species  do  not  possess  all  faculties 
in  the  same  degree :  some  excel  generally,  others  are  middling 
in  all  things;  some  are  geniuses,  others  are  idiots.  The 
organization  of  the  brain  in  all  these  cases  cannot  be  equally 
perfect.  Moreover,  if  the  brain  were  not  composed  of  dif- 
ferent organs,  why  should  understanding  increase  as  it 
becomes  complicated  ?  The  cerebral  organization  of  the 
different  sexes  at  least  should  be  modified ;  for  certain  facul- 
ties are  more  active  in  females,  and  others  in  males.  These 
modified  manifestations  are  easily  understood,  if  we  admit 
that  certain  organs  are  more  developed  in  males,  and  others 
in  females. 


PLURALITY  OF  THE  CEREBRAL  ORGANS  95 


Further,  in  the  same  individual,  certain  propensities, 
sentiments,  and  intellectual  faculties  are  manifested  with 
great  energy,  while  others  scarcely  appear.  One  may  excel 
in  verbal  memory,  and  be  incapable  of  combining  two  phil- 
osophical ideas;  another  may  be  a  great  painter,  and  a  bad 
musician,  or  a  miserable  poet ;  and  a  third,  a  great  poet,  and 
a  bad  general ;  piety  and  stupidity  and  piety  and  intelligence, 
may  be  conjoined.  Every  one  has  his  peculiar  gifts.  Hence 
the  same  mass  of  brain  cannot  preside  over  dissimilar  func- 
tions. If  there  were  but  one  organ  of  sense  for  all  impres- 
sions, all  should  be  felt  as  soon  as  one  was  experienced;  but 
the  external  senses,  being  attached  to  different  organs,  one 
of  them  may  be  weak  and  another  strong.  It  is  the  same 
with  the  internal  senses:  if  the  same  part  were  the  organ 
of  every  faculty,  how  could  the  mind,  by  means  of  a  single 
instrument,  manifest  one  faculty  in  perfection,  ajid  another 
in  a  very  limited  manner? 

l^or  are  all  the  propensities  and  intellectual  faculties 
manifested  simultaneously;  several  appear  at  an  earlier, 
several  at  a  later  period.  Some  are  very  energetic  in  children, 
others  appear  only  in  adult  age;  some  disappear  at  the  age 
of  fifty  or  sixty,  and  others  last  till  ninety  or  a  hundred.  'Now 
if  every  faculty  were  dependent  on  the  same  organ,  all  ought 
to  appear  and  disappear  simultaneously.  All  these  difii- 
culties  are  removed,  if  we  admit  different  organs  which  are 
developed,  and  which  diminish,  at  different  periods,  as  hap- 
pens amongst  the  external  senses.  Smell  and  taste  appear 
earlier  than  sight  and  hearing,  because  their  organs  are 
sooner  developed. 

The  faculties  of  animal  life  cannot  act  incessantly,  they 
require  repose.  Study  of  the  same  subject,  too  long  pro- 
tracted, causes  fatigue;  by  changing  this  we  may  still  con- 
tinue our  labors.  IsTow  if  the  brain  were  a  single  organ,  that 
performed  all  the  functions  of  the  mind,  why  should  it  not 
be  still  further  fatigued  by  this  new  species  of  action? 
Although  our  eyes  be  fatigued  by  looking  at  pictures,  we  can 


96 


PHRENOLOGY 


still  listen  to  music,  because  there  is  a  particular  organ  for 
each  of  these  sorts  of  impression.  Such  considerations  are 
very  important  in  medicine,  and  by  attending  to  them  we 
may  often  prevent  partial  insanities,  if  we  see  that  a  person 
has  one  organ  very  active,  whether  from  great  size,  or  ex- 
cessive irritability,  all  that  has  any  relation  to  the  peculiar 
part  must  be  carefully  avoided,  and  the  activity  of  the  other 
faculties  be  aroused. 

As  during  watching  the  same  organ  is  not  always  active, 
but  reposes  at  intervals;  so,  during  sleep,  all  the  organs  do 
not  sink  into  inactivity  together,  but  a  particular  one  occa- 
sionally continues  its  function,  and  then  the  peculiar  state 
called  dreaming  supervenes.  Watching  is  the  state  in  which 
the  will  can  call  into  action  the  organs  of  the  intellectual 
faculties,  of  the  five  senses  and  of  voluntary  motion ;  but  it  is 
most  incorrect  to  define  watching,  the  state  in  which  all  these 
organs  are  active ;  for  it  never  happens  that  all  the  faculties 
are  so  at  the  same  time.  Every  corporeal  organ  being 
fatigued  talces  rest,  and  this  state  of  rest  is  sleep;  but  single, 
or  even  several  organs,  may  be  active  while  the  others  repose. 
The  peculiar  sensations  or  ideas  which  result  from  this 
partial  or  particular  state  of  activity,  constitute  dreams. 
These  are  more  or  less  complicated  according  to  the  number 
of  the  organs  active. 

It  may  here  be  asked,  whether  the  soul  or  mind  can  ever 
be  without  all  idea  ?  It  was  formerly  a  general  opinion 
that  activity  is  the  essence  of  the  soul ;  and  it  was  maintained 
that  in  the  deepest  and  most  complete  sleep  it  still  continued 
to  act  and  to  think,  only  that  no  one  had  consciousness  of  it. 
But  this  must  be  regarded  as  an  assertion,  divested  of  every 
proof  that  could  assure  us  of  such  a  state  of  action.  At  all 
events  the  state  of  dreaming  proves  the  plurality  of  the 
organs  of  the  affective  and  intellectual  faculties,  for  it  would 
be  impossible  to  experience,  during  dreams,  a  variety  of  ideas 
and  sensations,  if  the  brain  were  a  single  organ. 

Somnambulism  also  proves  the  plurality  of  the  organs. 
This  is  a  state  of  incomplete  sleep,  wherein  several  organs 


PLURALITY  OF  THE  CEREBRAL  ORGANS 


97 


are  watching.  Now  it  is  known  that  the  brain  takes  cog- 
nizance of  the  external  world  by  means  of  the  five  external 
senses.  If,  during  sleep,  particular  organs  act,  dreams  arise ; 
and  if  the  muscles  be  excited,  motion  follows,  or  the  sleeper 
walks.  Many  people,  indeed,  speak  in  their  sleep;  others 
hear  and  answer  in  addition ;  and  some  rise  and  walk  about, 
doing  various  acts.  This  is  somnambulism,  l^ow  as  the 
ear  can  hear,  so  may  the  eye  see,  while  the  other  organs  con- 
tinue asleep;  and  there  are  positive  facts  which  prove,  that 
several  persons  in  the  state  of  somnambulism  have  the  sense 
of  sight,  their  eyes,  however,  being  open,  not  shut,  as  has  been 
reported.  Convulsive  fits  also  occur,  in  which  the  patients 
see  without  hearing. 

Some  somnambulists  have  even  done  things  of  which  they 
were  incapable  when  watching;  and  dreaming  persons  some- 
times reason  better  than  they  do  when  they  are  awake. 
When  we  would  reflect  deeply  upon  any  subject,  we  escape 
from  the  noise  of  the  world  and  external  impressions,  by 
covering  our  eyes  with  the  hands ;  and  putting  a  great  number 
of  organs  to  rest,  we  endeavor  to  concentrate  all  vital  power 
in  one  or  in  several.  In  dreaming  and  in  somnambulism 
this  naturally  happens,  the  functions  of  the  active  organs  are 
then  often  more  perfect  and  more  energetic,  the  sensations 
more  lively,  and  the  reflections  deeper  than  in  the  state  of 
watching.  Unaware  of  the  danger  they  encounter,  somnam- 
bulists do  acts,  which,  though  possible,  they  would  not  attempt 
were  they  awake,  and  conscious  of  the  danger  to  which  they 
are  exposed.  They  ought,  therefore,  never  to  be  awakened 
when  seen  in  dangerous  situations. 

Inspirations,  visions,  and  similar  phenomena,  can  only  be 
explained  by  admitting  a  plurality  of  organs.  They,  conse- 
quently, contribute  to  demonstrate  that  position.  In  order 
to  understand  the  nature  of  visions,  it  is  necessary  to  bear 
in  mind  what  I  have  said  of  dreaming.  The  external  world 
is  then  represented  inwardly:  we  see  our  friends  or  our 
enemies;  we  speak,  walk,  eat,  drink,  sing,  hear  music,  &c., 
and  all  this  happens  in  our  dreaming  brains  only.  Visions 

7 


08 


PHRENOLOGY 


are  these  internal  sensations  or  ideas,  so  strongly  pictured 
forth,  that  though  aroused  and  awake,  the  person  still  refers 
them  outwards,  and  cannot  help  considering  them  as  realities. 
These  internal  perceptions,  when  transitory,  are  of  no  mo- 
ment, but  when  permanent,  they  indicate  a  true  disease  of 
some  part  of  the  brain. 

From  the  preceding  considerations,  we  may  now  explain 
why  many  persons  fancy  that  they  see  spirits  invisible  to 
others;  believe  themselves  accompanied  by  demons;  and 
imagine  that  they  converse  with  the  devil  or  with  angels. 
It  is  even  known  that  such  illusions  have  been  produced  by 
the  external  application  of  narcotic  ointments,  composed  of 
dulcamara,  belladonna,  stramonium,  hyosciamus,  opium,  &c. 

Disease  also  contributes  to  prove  the  plurality  of  the  cere- 
bral organs ;  for  how  is  it  possible  to  combine  the  fact  of 
partial  insanities  with  the  idea  of  unity  of  the  brain  ?  It  is 
with  the  cerebral  parts  as  with  the  nerves  of  the  external 
senses.  Any  nerve  may  be  diseased,  while  the  others  remain 
healthy;  we  may  be  blind  and  hear,  or  be  deaf  and  see. 
Dr.  Parry,  of  Bath,  told  me,  that  in  one  of  his  patients 
while  the  motion  of  the  whole  tongue  was  perfect,  the  taste 
of  one  side  was  impaired.  Analogous  facts  are  generally 
known  to  medical  men;  why  should  not  the  cerebral  parts 
be  similarly  affected  ?  One  faculty  of  the  mind  is  often  de- 
ranged, while  all  the  others  remain  unimpaired.  Monomanise, 
or  fixed  ideas,  may  be  explained  by  this  consideration. 
There  are  also  madmen,  who  are  reasonable  only  in  one  kind 
of  mental  manifestation.  I  know  the  case  of  a  chemist  who 
is  mad  in  everything  except  chemistry;  and  of  an  em- 
broiderer, who,  during  her  fits,  and  in  the  midst  of  the 
greatest  absurdities,  calculates  precisely  how  much  stuff  is 
necessary  for  any  particular  piece  of  work.  From  all  these 
considerations  it  follows,  that  there  are  as  many  organs  as 
special  and  independent  faculties;  and  consequently  that 
the  brain  cannot  be  a  single  organ,  but  must  be  composed  of 
several.  I  shall  now  answer  the  most  important  objections 
to  this  principle. 


PLURALITY  OF  THE  CEREBRAL  ORGANS 


99 


OBJECTIOI^S. 

I.    Unity  of  Consciousness. 

Metaphysicians  incessantly  repeat  that  the  organ  of  the 
soul  cannot  be  complicated,  because  consciousness  is  single. 
This  argument  is  very  old.  It  has  been  made  use  of  against 
Boerhaave,  Haller,  and  Van  Swieten,  who  commented  on 
the  duplicity  of  the  senses  and  of  the  brain,  and  consequently 
on  the  plurality  of  the  organs.  Hippocrates  himself  said, 
that  the  brain  of  man  as  well  as  of  animals  is  double.  Van 
Swieten  observes,  that  as  the  consciousness  of  impressions 
in  two  similar  organs  is  single,  as  for  example  in  the  two 
ears,  two  eyes,  &c.,  so  mental  consciousness  generally,  is 
single,  though  the  brain  be  double.  The  phenomenon  of 
single  consciousness  may  never  be  explained,  but  it  is  certain 
that  the  brain  is  composed  of  two  halves,  and  each  half  is 
made  up  of  different  parts.  Vegetative  life  is  one,  but 
composed  of  different  faculties,  performed  by  different  or- 
gans. Animal  life,  or  the  exhibition  of  the  affective  and 
intellectual  faculties  is  also  one,  though  more  or  less  compli- 
cated in  different  beings,  and  the  various  faculties  are 
manifested  by  means  of  peculiar  organs.  In  treating 
of  the  functions  of  the  five  senses,  I  shall  examine 
the  various  opinions  which  have  been  broached  to  explain 
single  consciousness;  but  whether  any  of  these  be  found 
satisfactory  or  not,  the  plurality  of  the  animal  organs  is  in- 
dubitable. The  two  hemispheres  and  the  individual  parts 
or  organs  of  each  may  be  in  different  and  quite  opposite 
states,  and  produce  different  affections.  Their  mutual  influ- 
ence, and  due  continuance,  on  which  the  unity  of  animal 
life  depends,  being  deranged,  the  unity  of  animal  life  will  be 
disturbed  also. 

It  is  therefore  not  true  that  consciousness  is  always  single, 
either  in  reference  to  external  senses,  or  to  the  internal 
faculties.  There  are  diseased  persons  who  see  all  objects 
double.  ^Tumbers  of  madmen  hear  angels  singing,  or  devils 
roaring  only  on  one  side.  One  of  Gall's  friends,  a  physician, 
often  complained  that  he  could  not  think  with  the  left  side 


100 


PHRENOLOGY 


of  his  head;  the  right 'side  was  one  inch  higher  than  the 
left.  Gall  attended  a  gentleman  who  for  three  years  heard 
peasants  insulting  him  on  his  left  side.  He  commonly  dis- 
cerned his  derangement  and  ratified  his  error;  but  if  he  took 
a  little  too  much  wine,  or  had  a  fit  of  fever,  he  always 
imagined  there  were  voices  abusing  him.  Tiedemann  men- 
tions a  certain  Moor  who  was  alienated  on  one  side  of  his 
brain,  and  observed  his  madness  with  the  other. 

All  monomaniacs  have  a  complicated  consciousness.  I 
saw  in  Dublin  a  lunatic  who  fancied  himself  the  Duke  of 
Wellington.  He  thought  to  have  commanded  in  Spain  and 
to  have  gained  the  battle  of  Waterloo,  yet  at  the  same  time 
he  was  a  clever  and  excellent  servant,  did  his  service  at  table, 
and  in  the  house  with  great  propriety.  I  saw  him  handing 
round  a  table,  where  there  was  a  large  party,  everything  with 
perfect  order  and  decency,  so  that  no  guest  could  suspect  his 
aberration. 

There  are  other  sorts  of  remarkable  cases  which  prove  that 
consciousness  is  not  always  single.  Mr.  Combe  (System  of 
Phrenology,  p.  108,)  quotes  from  the  Medical  Repository,  the 
case  of  a  Miss  R.  in  the  United  States,  who  naturally  pos- 
sessed a  very  good  constitution,  and  arrived  at  adult  age 
without  having  it  impaired  by  disease.  She  possessed  an 
excellent  capacity,  and  enjoyed  fair  opportunities  to  acquire 
knowledge.  Besides  the  domestic  arts  and  social  attain- 
ments, she  had  improved  her  mind,  by  reading  and  conversa- 
tion, and  was  versed  in  penmanship.  Her  memory  was 
capacious,  and  stored  with  a  copious  stock  of  ideas.  Unex- 
pectedly, and  without  any  forewarning,  she  fell  into  a  pro- 
found sleep,  which  continued  several  hours  beyond  the  or- 
dinary term.  On  waking  she  was  discovered  to  have  lost 
every  trait  of  acquired  knowledge.  Her  memory  was  tabula 
rasa.  All  vestiges  both  of  words  and  things  were  obliterated 
and  gone.  It  was  found  necessary  for  her  to  learn  every- 
thing again.  She  even  acquired,  by  new  efforts,  the  art  of 
spelling,  reading,  writing,  and  calculating,  and  gradually 
became  acquainted,  with  the  persons  and  objects  around, 
like  a  being  for  the  first  time  brought  into  the  world.  In 


PLURALITY  OF  THE  CEREBRAL  ORGANS  101 


these  exercises  she  made  considerable  proficiency.  But  after 
a  few  months  another  fit  of  somnolency  invaded  her.  On 
rousing  from  it,  she  found  herself  restored  to  the  state  she 
was  before  the  first  paroxysm,  but  was  wholly  ignorant  of 
every  event  and  occurrence  that  had  befallen  her  afterwards. 
The  former  condition  of  her  existence,  she  called  the  old  state, 
and  the  latter  the  new  state,  and  she  is  as  unconscious  of  her 
double  character,  as  two  distinct  persons  are  of  their  respec- 
tive natures.  During  four  years  and  upwards,  she  had 
undergone  periodical  transitions  from  one  of  these  states  to 
another.  The  alterations  were  always  consequent  upon  a 
long  and  sound  sleep.  In  her  old  state  she  possessed  all  her 
original  knowledge,  in  her  new  state  only  what  she  acquired 
since.  If  a  gentleman  or  lady  be  introduced  to  her  in  the 
old  state,  or  vice  versa,  and  so  of  all  other  matters,  to  know 
them  satisfactorily  she  must  learn  them  in  both  states.  In 
the  old  state  she  possesses  fine  powers  of  penmanship,  while 
in  the  new  writes  a  poor  awkward  hand,  not  having  had  time 
or  means  to  become  expert.  In  January,  1816,  both  the  lady 
and  her  family  were  able  to  conduct  affairs  without  em- 
barrassment. By  quickly  knowing  whether  she  is  in  the  old 
or  new  state,  they  regulate  their  intercourse  and  govern 
themselves  accordingly.  The  Eev.  Timothy  Alden  of  Mead- 
ville  has  drawn  up  a  history  of  this  curious  case. 

I  know  the  history  of  a  noble  family  where  a  son  had 
similar  fits,  accompanied  by  a  special  memory,  so  that 
consciousness  was  double,  one  for  the  ordinary  state,  and 
the  other  for  the  fits. 

Dr.  Devan  read  to  the  Eoyal  Society  of  Edinburgh,  in 
February,  1822,  the  history  of  a  case,  observed  by  Dr.  Dyer 
of  Aberdeen,  in  a  girl,  sixteen  years  old,  which  lasted  from 
2d  March,  to  11th  June,  1815.  The  first  symptom  was  an 
unconamon  propensity  to  fall  asleep  in  the  evenings.  This 
was  followed  by  the  habit  of  talking  in  her  sleep  on  those 
occasions.  One  evening  she  fell  asleep  in  this  manner; 
imagining  herself  an  Episcopal  clergyman,  she  went  through 
the  ceremony  of  baptising  three  children  and  gave  an  appro- 
priate prayer.    Iler  mistress  shook  her  by  the  shoulders, 


103 


PHRENOLOGY 


on  which  she  awoke  and  appeared  unconscious  of  everything, 
except  that  she  had  fallen  asleep,  of  which  she  showed  herself 
ashamed.  She  sometimes  dressed  herself  and  the  children 
while  in  this  state,  or  as  Miss  L.  called  it,  ^  dead  asleep,' 
answered  questions  put  to  her  in  such  a  manner  as  to  show 
that  she  understood  the  question,  but  the  answers  were  often, 
though  not  always,  incongruous.  One  day  in  this  state  she 
sat  at  breakfast,  with  perfect  correctness,  with  her  eyes  shut. 
She  afterwards  awoke  with  the  child  on  her  knees,  and  won- 
dered how  she  got  on  her  clothes.  Sometimes  the  cold  air 
awakened  her,  at  other  times  she  was  seized  with  the  affection 
whilst  walking  out  with  the  children.  She  sang  a  hymn 
delightfully  in  this  state,  and  from  a  comparison,  which  Dr. 
Dyer  had  an  opportunity  of  making,  it  appeared  incompar- 
ably better  done  than  she  could  accomplish  when  awake.  In 
the  meantime  a  still  more  singular  and  interesting  symptom 
began  to  make  its  appearance.  The  circumstances  which  oc- 
curred during  the  paroxysm,  were  completely  forgotten  by 
her  when  the  paroxysms  were  over,  but  were  perfectly  re- 
marked during  subsequent  paroxysms.  Her  mistress  said 
that  when  in  this  stupor,  on  subsequent  occasions,  she  told 
her  what  was  said  to  her  on  the  evening  when  she  baptised 
the  children.  A  depraved  fellow  servant,  understanding 
that  she  wholly  forgot  every  transaction  that  occurred  during 
the  fit,  clandestinely  introduced  a  young  man  into  the  house, 
who  treated  her  with  the  utmost  rudeness,  whilst  her  fellow 
servant  stopped  her  mouth  with  the  bed  clothes  and  otherwise 
overpowered  a  vigorous  resistance  which  was  made  by  her 
even  during  the  influence  of  her  complaint.  !N"ext  day  she 
had  not  the  slightest  recollection  even  of  that  transaction, 
nor  did  any  person  interested  in  her  welfare  know  of  it  for 
several  days,  till  she  was  in  one  of  her  paroxysms  when  she 
related  the  whole  fact  to  her  mother.  "Next  Sunday  she  was 
taken  to  church  by  her  mistress,  while  the  paroxysm  was  on 
her.  She  shed  tears  during  the  sermon,  particularly  during 
the  account  given  of  the  execution  of  three  young  men  in 
Edinburgh,  who  had  described  in  their  dying  declarations 
the  dangerous  steps  with  which  their  career  of  vice  and 


PLURALITY  OF  THE  CEREBRAL  ORGANS  103 

infamy  took  its  commenceineiit.  When  she  returned  home, 
she  recovered  in  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  was  quite  amazed  at 
the  questions  put  to  her  about  the  church  sermon,  and 
denied  that  she  had  been  to  any  such  place,  but  next  night 
on  being  taken  ill,  she  mentioned  that  she  had  been  at  church, 
repeated  the  words  of  the  text,  and  in  Dr.  Dyer's  hearing 
gave  an  accurate  account  of  the  tragical  narrative  of  the 
three  young  men  by  which  her  feelings  had  been  so  powerfully 
affected. 

The  same  phenomena  present  themselves,  when  in  a  state 
of  somnambulism  produced  by  animal  magnestism.  It  has 
been  repeatedly  observed  that  some  magnetised  persons 
acquire  a  new  consciousness  and  memory  during  their  mag- 
netic sleep.  When  this  state  has  subsided,  all  that  had  passed 
in  it  is  obliterated  and  the  recollection  of  the  ordinary  state 
is  restored.  If  the  magnetic  sleep  is  recalled  again,  the 
memory  of  the  circumstances  which  occurred  in  that  state 
is  restored,  so  that  the  individuals  may  be  said  to  live  in  a 
state  of  divided  or  double  consciousness. 

Single  consciousness,  then,  even  in  the  sense  of  personal 
identity,  is  not  a  constant  phenomenon,  though  it  is  seldom 
disturbed.  The  different  sorts  of  consciousness,  as  special 
sensations,  feelings  and  notions,  are  evident  in  every  indi- 
vidual, and  can  be  explained  only  by  the  instrumentality  of 
different  organs;  in  the  same  way  as  we  hear,  see,  smell, 
and  feel  by  the  assistance  of  different  nerves. 

II. 

It  is  also  objected  that,  in  conceiving  the  brain  composed 
of  many  organs,  its  unity  is  destroyed,  whilst  all  organic 
parts  are  evidently  dependent  on  each  other.  It  is  certainly 
impossible  to  deny  the  mutual  influence  and  dependence  of 
the  different  organs,  and  no  one  can  insist  upon  this  truth 
more  than  I  do.  There  is,  however,  a  great  difference  be- 
tween saying  that  the  various  organic  parts  exert  a  mutual 
influence,  and  saying  that  each  part  does  not  perform  its 
own  particular  function.  This  may  be  illustrated  from 
vegetative  and  animal  life.    Digestion  is  necessary  to  the 


104 


PHRENOLOGY 


circulation  of  the  blood,  and  to  the  secretion  of  bile;  but 
does  the  stomach  effect  the  circulation  of  the  blood,  or  the 
secretion  of  bile  ?  ISTutrition  depends  on  digestion,  chylifica- 
tion,  sanguification,  respiration,  circulation,  and  other 
auxiliary  functions;  but  is  not  each  of  these  functions  the 
office  of  some  particular  organ?  We  observe  the  same  in 
animal  life.  Without  the  auditory  apparatus  we  could  not 
hear  any  language ;  but  does  hearing  invent  the  vocal  signs  ? 
We  shall  afterwards  see  that  we  cannot  arrive  at  certain 
ideas  without  the  external  senses,  but  that  still  the  external 
senses  do  not  produce  the  conceptions  of  these  ideas.  Again, 
whatever  nourishes  the  brain  contributes  to  its  evolution,  as 
is  the  case  with  the  eyes,  the  ears,  &c. ;  and  no  part  of  the 
body  detached  from  it  can  preserve  its  perfect  organization, 
or  perform  its  function;  but  can  we  therefore  say  that  the 
eye  does  not  see,  that  the  ear  does  not  hear  ? 

III. 

The  particular  organs  of  the  brain,  it  is  objected  again, 
are  not  so  distinctly  separated  as  the  nerves  of  the  five  ex- 
ternal senses.  It  is  true  the  limits  or  lines  of  separation 
cannot  be  exactly  determined  between  the  different  organs, 
but  neither  can  they  in  the  case  of  the  five  external  senses. 
The  nerves  of  motion  have  not  yet  been  separated  from  the 
nerves  of  feeling  in  the  mass  of  the  spinal  marrow,  though 
they  must  be  different.  The  structure  of  the  skin  also  must 
vary  at  different  places,  as  is  evident  by  the  exhalations 
arising  from  it,  and  the  hair  which  grows  on  various  parts 
of  it;  but  this  difference  has  not  yet  been  demonstrated. 
^Neither  the  limits  of  the  olfactory  nerve,  nor  of  the  nerve 
of  sight,  are  more  distinct  than  are  the  limits  of  the  fibrous 
bundles  of  the  cerebral  organs.  But  as  the  relation  between 
the  optic  nerve  and  sight,  between  the  olfactory  nerve  and 
smell  may  be  shoT\m,  so  we  can  demonstrate  the  relations  be- 
tween the  bundles  of  the  brain  and  the  affective  and  intel- 
lectual faculties.  Anatomy  shows  that  the  bundles,  which 
form  the  convolutions  situated  in  the  forehead,  are  small  but 


PLURALITY  OF  THE  CEREBRAL  ORGANS  105 


numerous,  while  the  posterior  bundles  are  less  numerous  but 
large ;  and  we  shall  see  that  the  faculties  of  the  forehead  are 
more  numerous  but  less  energetic,  than  those  whose  organs 
are  situated  in  the  posterior  and  superior  parts  of  the  head. 
The  mutual  influence  of  the  cerebral  functions  upon  each 
other  requires  a  communication  of  the  cerebral  organs,  and 
in  my  work  on  the  Anatomy  of  the  Brain  I  have  a  separate 
chapter  on  the  apparatuses  of  communication. 

IV. 

The  comparison  of  the  internal  organs  with  the  five  ex- 
ternal senses  is  rejected  as  affording  any  proof  of  the  plurality 
of  the  organs,  because  the  five  external  senses  may  be  reduced 
to  a  single  sense,  sensation^  just  as  all  the  internal  faculties 
may  be  reduced  to  the  faculty  of  thinking.  It  is  true,  that 
the  five  external  senses  only  operate  some  kind  of  sensation; 
but  sensation  in  this  sense  is  a  general  expression,  and 
embraces  different  species  of  sensation,  as  hearing,  seeing, 
smelling,  &c.  Gravity,  density,  volume,  &c.,  are  general 
expressions  in  physics ;  but  it  is  necessary  to  specify  their 
determinate  qualities  to  indicate  the  peculiar  bodies  of  which 
we  speak,  as  gold,  silver,  copper,  iron,  &c.  Life  is  a  general 
expression,  and  life's  common  phenomena,  birth,  nutrition, 
increase,  decrease,  and  death,  are  observed  in  all  living  beings, 
in  plants  and  in  animals.  It  is,  however,  necessary  to  dis- 
criminate vegetation  from  animalisation.  Secretion  is  a 
general  expression;  but  each  particular  sort  must  be  indi- 
cated, and  is  actually  performed  by  a  particular  organ;  as 
bile  by  the  liver,  urine  by  the  kidneys,  &c.  We  must  proceed 
in  a  similar  manner  in  considering  animal  life :  sensation  is 
a  general  expression,  and  every  kind  of  sensation  must  be 
specified.  The  having  sensations  of  light,  of  sound,  of  taste, 
or  of  smell,  are  very  different  things.  Each  of  these  par- 
ticular sensations  is  performed  by  a  particular  organ.  The 
faculty  of  thinking  is  a  common  power;  but  thoughts  of 
space,  of  form,  color,  tone,  number,  &c.,  are  particular  kinds 
which  are  manifested  by  appropriate  and  special  organs. 


106 


PHRENOLOGY 


This  objection,  therefore,  instead  of  refuting  the  notion  of 
the  plurality  of  the  organs,  proves  the  necessity  of  its 
admission  from  analogy. 

V. 

Another  objection  is  the  following:  the  nerves  of  the  five 
external  senses  are  homogeneous,  and  their  functions  only 
differ  on  account  of  their  external  apparatus.  The  auditory 
nerve  in  the  eye,  it  is  said,  would  see,  and  the  olfactory 
nerve  in  the  ear  would  hear;  therefore,  the  internal  organs, 
being  destitute  of  such  external  apparatus,  necessarily  per- 
form the  same  functions.  This  opinion  is  still  pretty  general. 
As  a  polypus  may  be  divided  into  several  pieces,  and  every 
piece  become  an  independent  whole,  so  Cuvier  compares  the 
nervous  system  to  a  net,  or  a  broken  loadstone,  which  orig- 
inally was  composed  of  homogeneous  parts ;  and  he  proceeds 
to  say  that  he  thinks  the  different  functions  of  the  nerves 
must  be  attributed  to  external  apparatus,  to  the  ramifications 
and  combinations  of  blood-vessels ;  in  short,  to  an  infinity  of 
secondary  circumstances,  rather  than  to  the  internal  structure 
of  the  nerves.  It  may,  however,  be  proved  anatomically  and 
physiologically,  that  not  the  external  apparatus  only,  but  also 
the  internal  structure  of  nerves  performing  dissimilar  offices 
is  different.  I  admit  five  sorts  of  nerves,  and  subdivisions 
of  each:  the  first  of  these  presides  over  vegetative  life; 
the  second  over  voluntary  motion;  the  third  over  the  func- 
tions of  the  five  senses ;  the  fourth  over  the  feelings ;  and  the 
fifth  over  the  intellectual  faculties.  The  nerves  of  the  first 
kind  are  soft,  and  of  a  gray  or  whitish-red  color ;  those  of  the 
second  are  white  and  firm.  The  nerves  of  the  five  external 
senses  differ  universally  in  their  consistence,  color,  form,  and 
texture.  The  fibres  of  the  brain  and  cerebellum  are  white 
and  delicate.  Moreover,  every  nerve,  and  even  the  different 
parts  of  each,  have  their  origins  in  a  particular  quantity  of 
cineritious  substance.  'Now,  these  anatomical  circumstances 
never  vary,  and  must,  consequently,  be  essential  to  the 
structure  and  function  of  the  nerves.    Cuvier  is  therefore 


PLURALITY  OF  THE  CEREBRAL  ORGANS  107 


in  contradiction  with  himself,  when  he  says,*  that  '  what- 
ever be  the  position  of  the  parts,  and  however  circuitous  the 
courses  nerves  must  take  to  arrive  at  their  destinations,  cer- 
tain parts  constantly  receive  their  nerves  from  the  same 
source.  Similar  nerves  have  always  a  similar  distribution. 
The  smallest  pairs,  as  the  fourth  and  sixth,  which  might 
easily  have  been  supplied  by  some  neighboring  trunk,  are 
regularly  formed,  and  destined.'  f  From  these  anatomical 
facts,  it  seems  natural  to  conclude  that  the  nerves  are  not 
all  exactly  alike.  Their  difference  is  equally  proved  by 
physiology.  The  divers  functions  of  vegetative  life,  as  the 
secretion  of  bile,  saliva,  tears,  &c.,  suppose  organs  essentially 
different :  is  it  not  then  likely  to  be  the  same  with  the  nerves 
of  the  five  senses  ?  Their  external  apparatuses  are  said  to 
be  different,  because  fitted  to  receive  different  impressions; 
but  can  dissimilar  impressions  be  transmitted  to  the  brain  by 
the  same  nerves  ?  Could  impressions  of  light  be  propagated 
by  the  auditory  nerve?  If  the  manner  of  propagating  im- 
pressions from  without,  and  of  communicating  these  to  the 
brain  were  essentially  the  same,  and  weaker  or  stronger  only, 
perceptions  of  these  similar  impressions  ought  also  to  be 
essentially  similar,  and  to  differ  in  nothing  but  in  strength. 
This  proves  that  the  difference  of  the  propagated  impressions 
requires  corresponding  difference  in  the  structure  of  the  nerves 
which  propagate  them.  Moreover  the  internal  structure 
of  the  nerves  must  be  different,  because  they  perform  their 
special  functions  aroused  by  mere  internal  irritations.  The 
sensations  experienced  in  dreaming  are  the  same  as  external 
impressions  produce.  A  person  who  has  lost  his  eyes  dreams 
that  he  sees;  another  thinks  he  feels  pain  in  an  amputated 
limb;  an  increased  flow  of  blood  to  the  eyes  makes  us  see 
sparks  and  luminous  bodies;  to  the  ears,  it  excites  tingling 
and  humming  noises.  Finally,  illusions  of  the  five  external 
senses  in  different  diseases,  are  produced  by  purely  internal 
causes.  All  these  phenomena  force  us  to  infer  that  the 
organisation  of  every  nerve  is  particular. 

*  Loc.  cit.  p.  192. 

t  J.  Hunter  made  the  same  observation  before  Cuvier. 


108 


PHRENOLOGY 


It  is  replied  that  the  difference  of  the  organs  cannot  be 
demonstrated.  I  answer  that  the  contrary  also  cannot  be 
shown.  Hence,  neither  the  homogeneous  nor  the  dissimilar 
structure  of  the  organs  is  proved  or  refuted  by  any  considera- 
tion on  the  five  senses.  There  are,  however,  many  things 
similar  in  appearance,  and  really  different  in  nature.  Many 
fluids  look  like  water  without  being  aqueous.  Who  can  dis- 
tinguish all  the  varieties  of  apple-trees  by  the  difference  of 
their  ligneous  fibres;  and  these  must,  nevertheless,  be 
different,  since  their  flowers  and  fruits  are  so?  Hence, 
physiological  must  supply  what  is  deficient  in  anatomical 
proofs. 

YI. 

Plattner  made  the  following  objection:  a  musician  plays 
with  his  fingers  on  all  instruments,  why  should  not  the  soul 
manifest  all  its  operations  by  means  of  the  same  organ? 
This  observation  is  rather  in  favor  of,  than  in  opposition  to 
the  plurality  of  the  organs,  for  there  are  ten  fingers  which 
play,  and  musical  instruments  have  many  chords  or  holes. 

VII. 

All  voluntary  motion  is  produced  by  muscles :  it  is,  conse- 
quently, possible  that  all  ideas  and  sensations  may  be  the 
result  of  different  motions  of  the  cerebral  fibres.  Those  who 
make  this  objection,  forget  that  the  various  motions  are 
performed  by  many  different  muscles.  There  are  flexors, 
extensors,  pronators,  &c.,  and  every  muscle  is  composed  of 
many  fibres,  often  having  different  directions.  ^sTow,  in 
every  position,  and  in  every  motion  of  the  body,  other  and 
different  muscles  start  into  activity.  In  the  same  way  we 
conceive  every  kind  of  sensation  or  idea,  attached  to  par- 
ticular fibres  of  the  brain. 

The  two  first  principles  of  phrenology  examined  in  the 
preceding  pages,  are  allowed  essentially  not  to  have  the 
claim  of  original  discovery,  though  we  elucidated  them  with 
more  clearness,  and  with  more  details,  than  any  natural 
philosopher  had  done  before  us.    GalFs  particular  merit, 


MEANS  OF  DETERMINING  THE  ORGANS  109 


however,  begins  with  the  specification  of  the  fundamental 
powers  and  their  respective  organs.  Here  every  point  be- 
comes new,  though  his  first  method  of  proceeding  was 
physiognomical,  and  known  to  his  predecessors  and  contem- 
poraries. But  Gall  confined  himself  to  the  head,  and  he 
alone  is  the  founder  of  the  physiology  of  the  brain,  in  giving 
consistency  and  extension  to  these  inquiries. 


SECTION  V. 

On  the  Means  of  Determining  the  Functions  of  the 
Cerebral  Parts. 

Aftek  having  proved  that  the  faculties  of  the  mind  are 
different,  and  that  the  manifestation  of  every  fundamental 
power  must  depend  on  some  particular  organ,  it  is  natural 
to  ask  how  the  organ  of  each  may  be  determined.  As  the 
idea  of  the  plurality  of  the  organs  is  very  ancient,  let  us  first 
consider  what  means  have  been  employed  for  their  detection, 
— inquire  into  the  cause  of  the  indifferent  success  that  has 
attended  those  investigations,  and  afterwards  speak  of  the 
manner  pursued  by  Gall  and  Phrenologists. 

I.  Anatomy. 

Many  natural  philosophers  have  hoped  to  ascertain  the 
functions  of  the  cerebral  parts  by  anatomy,  especially  by 
comparative  anatomy.  It  is  even  pretty  generally  believed 
that  our  physiology  of  the  brain  is  the  result  of  anatomical 
investigation.  This,  however,  is  not  the  case.  I  shall  here 
make  some  refiections  on  anatomy  in  general,  and  on  com- 
parative anatomy  in  particular.  There  are  very  few  instances 
where  structure  indicates  function.  Who,  before  observing 
the  muscles  in  action,  could  have  inferred  from  their 
structure  that  they  were  contractile  ?  Who  from  the  anatomy 
of  the  stomach,  could  predicate  its  digestive  power?  Wlio, 
from  the  structure  of  the  viscera,  could  decide  that  the  liver 


110 


PHRENOLOGY 


would  secrete  bile,  the  kidney  urine  ?  The  structure  of  the 
heart  was  known  long  before  its  function.  Who,  from  the 
structure  and  form  of  the  nerves,  could  determine  what  kind 
of  impressions  they  propagate?  The  deepest  penetration 
could  not  have  assigned  smell  to  the  pituitary  membrane  of 
the  nose, — taste  to  the  nervous  papillse  of  the  tongue, — 
perception  of  light  to  the  optic  nerve,  &c.,  from  mere 
examination  of  structure. 

It  is  the  same  with  the  brain.  Though  the  direction  of 
its  fibres,  their  greater  or  less  consistence,  their  deeper  or 
lighter  shades  of  color,  their  size,  length,  &c.,  be  known, 
what  conclusion  as  to  the  functions  can  thence  be  drawn? 
^Tone.  It  is  with  the  brain  as  with  plants  whose  functions 
are  extremely  different,  even  when  differences  in  the  organi- 
sation are  imperceptible,  which,  however,  must  exist,  as 
effects  proclaim.  It  is  quite  certain,  therefore,  that  ana- 
tomical knowledge  does  not  indicate  function;  some  other 
means  must,  consequently,  be  used  to  discover  the  offices 
of  the  cerebral  parts.  Physiology  has,  indeed,  often  pre- 
ceded anatomy.  It  was  generally  known  that  we  see  by 
means  of  the  eyes,  before  their  structure  was  discovered.  If 
it  were  possible  to  determine  functions  according  to  structure, 
we  should  not  have  to  refute  so  many  errors;  to  show,  for 
instance,  that  the  feelings  neither  result  from  the  viscera, 
nor  nervous  plexuses  and  ganglia  of  the  abdomen,  nor  from 
the  temperaments,  &c.  Many  cerebral  organs  were  discov- 
ered by  Gall,  before  their  anatomy  was  demonstrated,  and 
his  discoveries  might  have  subsisted  for  centuries,  without 
any  information  on  the  structure  of  the  brain. 

When  I  say,  however,  that  function  is  not  discovered  by 
knowledge  of  anatomical  structure,  I  am  far  from  maintain- 
ing that  the  structure  of  a  part  has  no  relation  to  its  function. 
The  structure  of  the  heart  did  not  proclaim,  yet  it  was  in 
relation  to  its  function.  It  is  the  same  with  all  the  parts  of 
vegetative  and  animal  life.  A  physiological  system  of  the 
brain  would  be  necessarily  false,  were  it  in  contradiction 
with  its  anatomical  structure.  If  an  anatomist  could  prove 
all  nerves  to  be  only  prolongations  of  the  brain, — show  their 


MEANS  OF  DETERMINING  THE  ORGANS  111 

termination  in  one  central  point, — demonstrate  the  absence 
of  difference  in  the  brains  of  animals  with  dissimilar  facul- 
ties, and  between  the  brain  of  an  idiot  from  birth  and  that 
of  a  person  endowed  with  great  talent:  in  short,  if  an 
anatomist  demonstrate  the  structure  of  the  brain  to  be  in 
contradiction  to  our  physiological  principles,  or  vice  versa^ 
he  will  annihilate  our  whole  doctrine  with  all  its  conse- 
quences. There  is  then  some  relation  between  the  structure 
and  function  of  organic  parts,  but  the  structure  of  a  part, 
seldom,  if  ever,  indicates  its  function. 

Let  us  now  examine  whether  by  comparative  anatomy  the 
functions  of  the  brain  can  be  determined.  At  first  sight, 
comparative  anatomy  seems  capable  of  affording  important 
results,  but  a  nearer  view  shows  obstacles  that  preclude  even 
the  hope  of  aid  from  it.  First,  as  I  have  just  said,  it  is 
impossible  to  determine  functions,  from  structure.  Then, 
there  are  animals  whose  vegetative  life  presents  organs  of 
which  man  is  destitute.  May  we  not  conjecture  that  it  is 
the  same  with  animal  life;  but  how  can  we  conceive  any 
function  if  we  are  not  endowed  with  one  similar  ?  Accord- 
ingly, although  it  be  of  the  highest  importance  to  know  what 
gradations  nature  observes  in  adding  to  and  complicating 
the  brains  of  animals  as  their  functions  are  multiplied  and 
ennobled,  we  must  allow  that,  notwithstanding  the  most  as- 
siduous labors,  comparative  anatomists  have  only  sho^m  the 
mechanical  forms  of  different  brains  without  determining  the 
functions  of  the  cerebral  parts. 

Principles  were  wanting  to  enable  anatomists  to  determine 
the  existence  or  absence  of  the  same  parts  in  different  ani- 
mals; these  have  been  denied  or  admitted,  according  to 
similarity  or  dissimilarity  of  form  alone.  Anatomists  do 
not  even  agree  in  what  the  brain  consists.  I  call  brain  the 
nervous  mass  joined  with  the  nerves  of  motion  and  of  the 
five  external  senses,  and  manifesting  the  feelings  and 
intellectual  faculties. 

In  the  lower  animals  it  is  extremely  difficult,  if  not 
impossible,  to  determine  whether  there  be  a  particular  cere- 
bral mass  intimately  united  to  the  origins  of  the  nerves,  so 


112 


PHRENOLOGY 


as,  apparently,  to  form  a  whole,  the  parts  of  which  cannot 
be  demonstrated;  or,  whether  this  mass  belongs  entirely  to 
the  nerves  of  the  five  external  senses ;  in  which  case  external 
impressions  would  be  perceived  without  a  brain,  according  to 
the  definition  just  given.  In  fishes,  the  nervous  mass  situ- 
ated in  the  skull,  is  divided  into  several  ganglia,  whose 
functions  are  not  sufiiciently  understood.  In  birds,  the 
hemispheres  of  the  brain  are  more  considerable  than  in 
animals  of  a  lower  order,  but  they  are  without  convolutions. 
We  have  rectified  the  error  committed  by  the  anatomists  who 
stated  birds  to  be  destitute  of  commissures,  thalami,  and 
corpora  striata.  The  cerebellum  of  birds  consists  of  semi- 
circular rings.  In  viviparous  animals,  its  lateral  parts 
become  very  considerable.  The  brains  of  small  quadrupeds, 
as  of  mice,  rats,  squirrels,  &;c.,  are  smooth  on  the  surface  and 
without  convolutions.  Cuvier,  however,  is  wrong  in  saying 
that  the  brains  of  the  rodentia  have  no  convolutions ;  for  in 
the  beaver  they  are  very  distinct.  In  the  greater  number  of 
quadrupeds  the  brain  presents  distinct  convolutions ;  but  the 
function  of  no  cerebral  part  has  ever  been  detected  in  them. 
According  to  Cuvier,  all  the  mammalia,  saving  man  and 
some  of  the  simise,  are  without  posterior  cerebral  lobes.  He 
founds  this  assertion  on  the  circumstance  of  their  cerebella 
being  uncovered  with  brain.  The  conclusion  is,  however, 
very  incorrect;  for  the  fact  exists  only  in  consequence  of  the 
horizontal  position  of  quadrupeds.  The  presence  of  posterior 
lobes  cannot  be  denied,  because  their  size  and  form  differ 
in  different  animals,  or  else  the  anterior  and  middle  lobes 
ought  also  to  be  denied.  I^ay,  it  seems  to  me  that  in  animals, 
the  anterior  and  lateral  cerebral  convolutions  are  propor- 
tionally much  smaller  than  those  behind;  for  the  pretended 
optic  thalami,  out  of  which  the  convolutions  placed  posteriorly 
spring,  are  proportionally  much  larger  in  quadrupeds  than 
the  external  half  of  the  corpora  striata,  from  which  those 
in  the  front  and  sides  arise.  Thus  the  anterior  and  middle 
lobes  of  the  brains  of  animals  do  not  present  a  greater 
analogy  to  those  of  man,  than  the  posterior  lobes.  It  is 
generally  to  be  observed,  that  the  position  and  form  of 


MEANS  OF  DETERMINING  THE  ORGANS  113 


cerebral  parts  do  not  constitute  essential  proofs  of  their 
existence.  In  man,  the  ganglion  of  the  olfactory  nerve  is 
covered  by  the  anterior  lobe  of  the  brain;  in  quadrupeds,  it 
lies  before  it  entirely ;  the  olfactory  nerve  of  man  is  separated 
from  his  brain;  in  the  greatest  number  of  quadrupeds  it  is 
united  to  the  anterior  convolutions,  &c. ;  but  are  the  anterior 
lobes  therefore  wanting  in  quadrupeds?  Moreover  the 
cerebellum  of  all  men  is  not  entirely  covered  by  the  posterior 
lobes;  these  lobes  nevertheless  exist,  and  are  only  smaller  in 
proportion  to  the  cerebellum,  than  in  ordinary  cases.  Finally, 
animals  manifest  the  functions  which  are  performed  by  the 
posterior  lobes  of  the  human  brain,  and,  consequently,  we 
must  conclude  physiologically  that  the  respective  organs 
exist. 

Cuvier,  in  contradiction  with  himself,  states  farther,  that 
the  brains  of  quadrupeds  have  the  same  parts  as  the  brain 
of  man.  By  this,  however,  he  can  only  mean  such  large 
portions  as  the  cerebellum,  the  pons  Varoli,  the  thalami, 
corpora  striata,  corpus  callosum,  anterior  and  middle  lobes. 
This  assertion,  therefore,  still  requires  rectification  in  an- 
other respect.  The  brain  and  cerebellum  of  man  and  animals 
preserve  the  same  general  type  indeed,  but  they  present  many 
modifications,  and  many  parts  of  the  human  brain  are  not 
found  in  the  brains  of  animals.  This  point  may  be  illus- 
trated by  analogy.  All  plants  and  trees  have  certain  common 
parts,  as  roots,  stalk,  trunk,  boughs,  branches,  and  leaves; 
but  can  we  say  that  all  vegetables  have  the  same  parts? 
Various  branches  might  be  engrafted  on  a  common  trunk 
and  bring  forth  different  fruit,  yet  the  general  type  of  a 
tree  is  the  same.  The  laws  of  vegetation  are  similar  in  all 
plants,  but  the  elements  submitted  to  these  laws  are  different. 
Precisely  so  are  the  laws  of  the  nervous  system ;  there  exists 
one  type  from  the  brain  of  the  insect  to  that  of  man,  but 
it  presents  as  many  modifications  as  nature  intended  to 
produce  different  functions ;  the  common  parts  are,  conse- 
quently, more  or  less  complicated. 

Cuvier  thought  there  was  some  relation  between  the  tuber- 
cula  quadrigemina  and  the  nature  of  the  food  of  animals. 

8 


114 


PHRENOLOGY 


According  to  him,  the  anterior  pair  of  these  tubercles  is 
larger  in  herbivorous  animals,  and  the  posterior  in 
carnivorous.  The  wolf  and  sheep,  however,  have  the  nates 
larger  than  the  testes:  the  general  assertion  of  Cuvier, 
therefore,  falls  to  the  ground.  I  pass  over  many  other  errors, 
believed  and  propagated  by  comparative  anatomists,  because 
they  belong  rather  to  anatomy  than  to  physiology,  and  I 
refer  the  reader  to  my  work  on  the  anatomy  of  the  brain  and 
its  appendix.  Here,  I  only  say  that  comparative  anatomy,  as 
hitherto  conducted,  has,  no  more  than  anatomy  in  general,  ad- 
vanced the  physiology  of  the  brain.  I  think  it  will  suffice,  if  I 
quote  but  one  passage  of  Cuvier  in  confirmation,  where  he 
says  *  positively,  that  ^  the  instinct  is  indicated  by  no  visible 
mark  in  the  conformation  of  the  animal.' 

II.  Mutilations. 

Several  natural  philosophers  have  endeavored,  by  mutila- 
tions, to  determine  the  functions  of  the  brain.  They  cut 
away  various  parts  to  see  what  faculty  would  be  lost.  But, 
in  the  first  place,  such  means,  formerly,  could  not  be  accu- 
rately employed,  and  must,  therefore,  have  been  entirely 
useless;  the  duplicity  of  the  organs  was  frequently  over- 
looked; the  structure  of  the  brain,  too,  was  not  known,  and 
the  mutilations  were  made  horizontally,  while  the  direction 
of  the  fibres  is  vertical.  Moreover,  the  special  faculties  of 
the  mind  were  unknown,  and  the  mutilated  animals  were 
said  to  manifest  all  the  faculties,  if  they  exhibited  such  as 
are  common  and  general  only. 

These  means  have  been  pursued  without  fruit  hitherto, 
and  are  certainly  inadequate  to  determine  the  functions  of 
the  brain;  for  the  organs  not  being  confined  to  the  surface 
must  be  cut  away  on  both  sides  down  to  the  corpora  striata 
and  optic  thalami,  and  a  wound  of  this  extent  would  kill 
any  perfect  animal.  But  let  us  even  suppose  that  it  sur- 
vived such  a  mutilation,  how  is  it  to  manifest  a  sensation 
of  whose  organ  it  has  been  deprived;  and  how  indicate  its 

*  Le  regne  animal  distribue  d'apr§s  son  organization.  Paris,  1817, 
torn.  I.  p.  54. 


MEANS  OF  DETERMINING  THE  ORGANS  115 


want?  Such  operations,  too,  are  so  violent,  that  several 
faculties  might  be  retained  without  being  manifested.  A 
bird,  whose  brain  is  half  scooped  out,  is  not  likely  to  sing, 
or  to  build  a  nest,  &c.  Finally,  parts  deranged  by  sympathy, 
are  sometimes  more  sensible  than  those  which  suffer  primi- 
tively or  idiopathically.  A  headache  often  results  from 
something  indigestible  in  the  stomach,  and  this,  without  any 
feeling  of  pain  in  the  stomach  itself. 

Several  physiologists,  particularly  Fodere,  Eolando, 
riourens,  Magendie,  and  others,  have  recently  mutilated  the 
brains  of  various  living  animals;  from  their  observations, 
the  inference  might  be  drawn,  that  the  whole  brain  and 
cerebellum  are  destined  to  regulate  voluntary  motion.  This, 
however,  is  in  contradiction  with  all  physiological  observa- 
tions on  the  brain  in  the  healthy  state,  and  I  think  that  it  is 
impossible  to  determine  the  functions  of  the  cerebral  parts 
by  mutilation.  At  all  events  this  violent  proceeding  will  not 
teach  more  than  may  be  done  by  observations,  made  in  the 
healthy  state. 

III.    Sir  Everard  Home's  MetJiod. 

Sir  Everard  Home,^  in  his  Observations  on  the  Functions 
of  the  Brain,  read  at  the  Eoyal  Society,  on  the  26th  of  May, 
1814,  seems  to  trust  to  a  peculiar  means  of  determining  the 
functions  of  the  cerebral  parts.  He  says :  ^  The  various 
attempts  which  have  been  made  to  procure  accurate  informa- 
tion respecting  the  functions  that  belong  to  individual  por- 
tions of  the  human  brain,  having  been  attended  with  very 
little  success,  it  has  occurred  to  me  that,  were  anatomical 
surgeons  to  collect  in  one  view  all  the  appearances  they  had 
met  with,  in  cases  of  injury  to  that  organ,  and  the  effects 
that  such  injuries  produced  upon  its  functions,  a  body  of 
evidence  might  be  formed  that  would  materially  advance  this 
highly  important  investigation.'  He  then  informs  his 
readers  that  he  has  brought  together  certain  observations, 
stating  them  as  so  many  experiments  upon  the  brain,  with 

*  Philosophical  Transactions  for  the  year  1814.    Part  II.  p.  769. 


116 


PHRENOLOGY 


the  conclusions  which  tend  to  elucidate  this  particular 
inquiry. 

Let  us  first  hear  his  observations.  We  read,*  ^  that  in 
the  torpid  state,  commonly  attendant  upon  any  violent  shake 
being  given  to  the  brain,  the  senses  are  so  much  impaired, 
that  little  information  can  be  gained  respecting  the  effects 
produced  upon  the  internal  organs : — that  a  coup  de  soleil  is 
sometimes  accompanied  by  delirium,  loss  of  speech,  and  the 
pov^er  of  swallov^ing;  that  blood  extravasated  in  the  lateral 
and  third  ventricles  was  attended  by  repeated  fits  of  vomiting 
and  by  coma;  that  coagulable  lymph,  spread  over  the  union 
of  the  optic  nerves,  the  pineal  gland  and  tuberculum  an- 
nulare, was  followed  by  permanent  contraction  of  the  muscles 
between  the  occiput  and  vertebrae  of  the  neck,  dilatation  of 
the  pupils,  and  a  great  degree  of  deafness ; — ^that  the  forma- 
tion of  pus  under  the  dura  mater  covering  the  right 
hemisphere  was  accompanied  by  delirium  succeeded  by 
coma; — that  a  tumor  in  the  substance  of  the  posterior  lobe 
of  the  brain  was  attended  with  derangement  of  the  functions 
of  the  stomach  and  bowels,  and  with  double  vision ;  and  that 
a  deep  wound  in  the  right  anterior  lobe  of  the  brain,  attended 
with  inflammation  and  suppuration,  produced  no  effect 
whatever,  the  senses  remaining  entire,  and  the  person  not 
knowing  that  the  head  was  injured.  In  a  case,  also,  in  which 
the  tuberculum  annulare  had  become  so  hard  as  not  to  be  cut 
easily  with  a  knfe,  a  considerable  quantity  of  earthy  par- 
ticles having  been  intermixed  with  the  medullary  substance 
of  the  crura  and  other  parts  of  the  cerebellum,  and  the  cere- 
brum and  the  upper  parts  of  the  cerebellum  being  unusually 
soft,  the  effects  were,  that  the  boy  had  been  an  idiot  from 
birth,  never  walked,  spoke,  nor  understood  what  was  said, 
often  went  three  days  without  food,  and  so  on.' 

I  suppose  Sir  E.  Home  did  not  intend  to  state  such  facts 
as  quite  new  and  unobserved ;  for  every  one  who  is  but  half 
acquainted  with  the  history  of  the  healthy  and  diseased  state 
of  the  brain,  knows,  that  many  authors  have  related  cases, 


*  Sect.  II.,  p.  477,  &c. 


MEANS  OF  DETERMINING  THE  ORGANS  117 

in  most  or  in  all  respects  similar.  We  learn,  however,  from 
Lis  paper,  that  like  grave  affections  of  the  brain,  often  pro- 
duce no  perceptible  derangement  in  the  manifestations  of  the 
mind.  I  only  maintain,  that  the  means  Sir  E.  Home  has 
adopted,  are  quite  inadequate  to  point  out  the  functions  of 
the  brain,  and  that  all  hope  of  success  from  such  a  procedure 
is  vain ;  this,  my  opinion,  is  upported  by  the  observations  of 
Sir  E.  Home  himself.  He  does,  indeed,  speak  of  a  body  of 
evidence  which  might  be  formed,  and  of  conclusions  which 
tend  to  elucidate  this  peculiar  inquiry ;  but  he  has  not  drawn 
even  one  inference.  In  the  various  pathological  affections 
of  the  brain,  he  has  observed  headache,  giddiness,  faintness, 
loss  of  memory,  want  of  sleep,  delirium,  mania,  depression 
of  spirits,  melancholy,  apoplexy,  idiotism,  hissing  noise  in 
the  ear,  deafness,  blindness,  loss  of  speech,  irregular  pulse, 
stupor,  the  mouth  drawn  to  one  side,  numbness  of  the  arms 
and  legs,  spasms  in  the  lower  extremity,  stumbling  in  walk- 
ing, pain  between  the  shoulders,  nausea,  retching,  slow 
action  of  purgative  medicines,  vomiting,  convulsions,  &c. 
Sir  E.  Home  is,  perhaps,  inclined  to  infer,  that  the  brain  is 
the  organ  of  these  symptoms,  or  it  may  be  of  the  states  which 
are  opposite  to  them  ? — The  above  will  be  sufficient  to  show 
an  intelligent  reader,  that  in  Sir  E.  Home's  mode  we  should 
never  be  able  to  determine  the  peculiar  fimctions  of  the 
cerebral  parts. 

IV.    Dr.  GalVs  proceeding. 

At  the  beginning  of  this  volume  I  stated  that  GalFs  re- 
searches were  merely  physiognomical;  that  he  compared  the 
size  and  form  of  the  whole  head  with  the  general  faculties 
of  the  understanding,  looked  for  particular  signs  only  of 
memory,  judgment  and  imagination,  and  did  not  suppose  that 
the  feelings  also  resided  in  the  brain ;  but  that  not  succeeding 
in  this  way,  he  compared  the  form  and  the  size  of  the  whole 
head  with  the  favorite  occupations  of  those  who  were  remark- 
able for  peculiar  talents.  During  several  years  he  thought, 
for  instance,  that  great  mechanicians  may  be  distinguished 
by  a  face  capable  of  being  enclosed  between  two  parallel 


118 


PHRENOLOGY 


lines ;  in  other  words,  which  was  equally  wide  at  the  temples, 
as  at  the  cheek  bones,  and  great  musicians  by  a  triangular 
form  of  the  forehead.  He  met,  however,  with  exceptions, 
and  was  then  admonished  that  he  had  not  yet  arrived  at  the 
truth,  since  nature  makes  no  exceptions  in  her  laws.  If 
the  eye  be  the  organ  of  sight,  vision  can  never  exist  without 
the  eye;  so  also  in  regard  to  the  internal  organs.  If  a 
peculiar  faculty  be  attached  to  a  certain  cerebral  part,  this 
can  never  be  wanting,  if  the  faculty  is  manifested.  This 
truth  is  as  evident  as  the  statement,  that  no  effect  can  take 
place  without  a  cause.  Gall  was  therefore  obliged  to  give 
up  his  early  method  of  investigating  general  configurations 
of  head.  This  time,  however,  was  not  entirely  lost,  as  he 
acquired  great  facility  of  distinguishing  differences  in 
configuration. 

Recalling  to  his  mind  his  first  observations,  by  which  he 
distinguished  a  good  memory  from  the  developement  of  a 
particular  part  of  the  brain,  which  gave  to  the  eye  a  promi- 
nent appearance,  he  then  sought  to  discover  the  organs  of 
particular  faculties,  and  compared  peculiar  cerebral  con- 
figurations with  the  natural  vocations  of  different  persons. 
Thus,  when  he  observed  any  mechanician,  musician,  sculptor, 
draughtsman,  or  mathematician  eminently  gifted,  and  who 
had  displayed  his  talent  from  birth,  he  examined  his  head, 
to  see  if  he  could  discover  a  peculiar  developement  of  any 
cerebral  part.  Proceeding  in  this  way,  he  soon  detected 
peculiar  developements  in  musicians  and  mechanicians.  He 
observed,  that  a  certain  part  of  the  head  was  always  highly 
developed  when  a  peculiar  talent  was  innate,  while  the  rest 
of  the  head  was  very  differently  shaped  in  each  individual 
case.  At  first  he  confined  his  observations  to  men  of  partial 
genius,  and  such  individuals  were,  indeed,  his  best  subjects, 
not  only  because  their  organs  are  easily  pointed  out,  but  also 
because  they  alone  resist,  or  are  superior  to  the  influence  of 
external  circumstances  and  education.  These  individuals 
are  also  the  most  proper  for  confirming  the  organs  and 
convincing  beginners ;  for  in  them  the  organs  are  most  easily 
distinguished,  and  the  relation  between  developement  of 


MEANS  OF  DETERMINING  THE  ORGANS  119 

cerebral  parts  and  particular  manifestations  of  mind  is  most 
evident.  It  is  also  important  to  observe  the  characters  of 
persons,  who,  being  uncultivated,  are  least  capable  of  dis- 
simulation. As  physician  to  the  establishment  for  the  deaf 
and  dumb  at  Vienna,  Gall  was  fortunately  circumstanced  for 
this  purpose.  Here  he  could  observe  the  natural  state  of 
mental  manifestations,  and  detect  different  degrees  of  sus- 
ceptibility of  education.  With  this  view,  persons  from  the 
lower  classes  were  also  called  into  his  house,  and  encouraged 
in  such  conversations  and  behaviour  as  might  show  their 
characters. 

Thus,  Gall,  to  discover  the  mental  faculties  and  their 
particular  organs,  had  recourse  to  the  principal  actions  of 
men,  and  then  named  the  cerebral  parts  accompanying,  after 
these  actions.  Individuals  are  born  mathematicians,  me- 
chanicians, musicians,  philologists,  metaphysicians,  poets, 
&c. ;  if  he  found  a  certain  part  of  the  brain  of  each  uniformly 
more  developed  than  the  rest,  he  termed  this  the  organ  of 
mathematics,  music,  philology,  metaphysics,  or  poetry,  &c. 
In  the  same  way,  individuals  are,  from  birth,  stubborn, 
proud,  courageous,  or  thievishly,  murderously,  religiously 
inclined,  &c.,  and  the  cerebral  part  that  regularly  accom- 
panied these  actions,  he  called  organs  of  pride,  firmness, 
courage,  theft,  murder,  religion,  &c. 

Gall,  observing  that  greater  than  common  developement 
of  a  certain  cerebral  part,  corresponded  with  a  peculiar 
talent  or  determinate  inclination,  at  first,  supposed  the  part 
so  developed,  might  be  the  organ  of  such  manifestation,  and 
the  probability  of  this  assumption  increased  in  proportion  to 
the  number  of  confirmatory  observations.  Again,  if  he  saw 
a  head  with  a  protuberance,  evidently  occasioned  by  the 
developement  of  a  cerebral  part,  he  endeavored  to  get 
acquainted  with  the  individual,  and  to  learn  his  talents  or 
dominant  character.  If  the  organ  was  one  on  whose  func- 
tions preceding  actions  had  already  led  him  to  draw 
conclusions,  every  new  case  of  correspondence  increased  the 
probability  of  his  having  been  correct.  If,  on  the  other  hand, 
it  was  an  organ  not  yet  observed,  he  compared  the  actions  or 


120 


PHRENOLOGY 


uclinations  which  accompanied  it,  with  its  developement 
and  the  mental  frame  of  others,  and  conclilded  a'ccordingly. 
In  these  two  ways,  all  the  organs  Gall  discovered  were  de- 
termined. These  were,  to  give  them  his  own  names,  the 
organs  of  propagation,  murder,  theft,  mechanical  arts, 
music,  mathematics,  and  metaphysics,  discovered  by  com- 
paring the  larger  developement  of  individual  parts  with  the 
energetic  actions,  and  the  organs  of  love  of  offspring,  circum- 
spection, and  religion,  by  looking  for  the  determinate  actions 
that  accompany  great  developement  of  particular  organs. 

'Now,  if  energetic  functions  indicate  large  organs,  and  if 
large  organs  produce  energetic  functions,  weak  actions  will 
indicate  small  organs,  and  small  organs  will  produce  weak 
actions.  Gall,  consequently,  compared  weak  mental  func- 
tions of  individuals  with  the  respective  cerebral  organs,  and 
small  organs  with  the  respective  functions;  and  if  weak 
functions  corresponded  to  small  organs,  or  small  organs  to 
weak  functions,  his  first  conclusions  were  confirmed  in  a 
negative  way. 

Many  circumstances  contributed,  from  the  beginning,  to 
favor  the  multiplication  of  these  positive  and  negative  proofs. 
Gall,  living  in  a  great  city,  professionally  acquainted  with 
many  families,  and  physician  to  the  director  of  the  schools 
at  Vienna,  had  many  facilities  afforded  him  of  observing 
character  in  all  situations  and  at  all  ages.  Without  children 
himself,  he  could  spend  his  income  on  his  favorite  pursuits ; 
he  was  also  bold  enough  to  address  every  person  in  whose 
head  he  observed  any  peculiar  configuration.  In  our  travels, 
we  likewise  had  great  opportunity  of  observing,  and  gained 
much  information,  and  as  we  met  with  many  distinguished 
persons,  we  constantly  compared  their  organization  with  their 
capacities.  In  short,  we  collected  innumerable  facts,  by 
visits  to  establishments  for  education,  to  hospitals  for  idiots 
and  the  insane,  to  houses  of  correction  and  to  prisons,  by  our 
intercourse  with  different  nations,  and  our  free  communica- 
tion with  all  classes  of  society. 

Gall  at  a  very  early  stage  of  his  progress,  began  to  make 
a  collection  of  casts  from  the  heads  of  individuals  remarkable 


MEANS  OF  DETERMINING  THE  ORGANS  121 


for  qualities^  whether  talents  or  moral  sentiments.  He  thus 
preserved  memorials  of  his  observations,  which  he  could  often 
rectify  by  comparisons  and  examinations  of  them  in  private, 
»  and  at  different  times, — a  very  important  point;  for  our 
mind  is  not  always  equally  energetic  and  acute.  He  often 
placed  the  busts  of  individuals,  who  excelled  in  the  same 
functions  together,  without  distinguishing  any  similarity  in 
the  shape  of  their  heads;  sometimes  he  looked  in  vain  at 
them  for  several  weeks.  Those  only  who  have  engaged  in 
such  studies,  know  how  long  the  eyes  must  be  exercised 
before  they  can  detect  every  difference  in  forms  and  sizes 
at  a  glance.  The  collection  of  busts  had  still  another  advan- 
tage. Many  of  the  individuals  were  remarkable  in  several 
points  of  view,  as  well  affirmatively  as  negatively,  and  conse- 
quently presented  various  points  for  comparison. 

At  the  same  time  he  collected  skulls,  especially  of  those 
who  were  remarkable  for  particular  qualities,  and,  if  possible, 
of  those  whose  busts  he  had  modelled  in  plaster.  He  thus 
learned  to  compare  heads  with  individual  skulls,  and  also 
to  perceive  more  clearly  the  forms  of  the  organs. 

We  extend  our  observations  over  both  sexes.  There  is  a 
natural  difference  in  the  mental  dispositions  of  men  and 
women,  not  in  essence  but  in  quantity,  and  quality,  which 
no  education  can  remove.  Certain  mental  powers  are 
stronger,  and  others  weaker  in  men  than  in  women,  and  vice 
versa.  The  heads  of  women  are  generally  larger  from  the 
forehead  to  the  occiput,  and  narrower  laterally  than  those  of 
men,  whilst  they  are  shorter  and  broader  on  both  sides. — ■ 
The  same  difference  is  observed  in  males  and  females  of 
animals.  If  this  difference  of  brain  coincide  with  our 
observation  of  special  faculties  in  individuals,  the  probability 
of  having  discovered  truth  increases. 

As  the  arrangement  and  position  of  all  parts  common  to 
men  and  animals  are  nearly  the  same,  it  is  very  useful  to 
compare  the  cerebral  organization  of  animals  endowed  with 
like  powers;  or  to  contrast  this  with  that  of  such  as  are 
destitute  of  these  faculties.  In  this  way  points  of  compari- 
son are  exceedingly  multiplied,  and  observations,  relative  to 


122 


PHRENOLOGY 


faculties  common  to  man  and  animals,  may  be  repeated  to 
infinity.  The  function  of  no  organ,  however,  has  been  dis- 
covered in  animals;  all  were  pointed  out  in  man;  and 
certainly  can  only  be  attained,  by  confining  observations  to 
individuals  of  the  same  kind,  and  above  all,  to  individuals 
of  great  talent  or  very  marked  character.  Some  facts,  in 
the  comparative  physiology  of  the  brain,  have  been  pointed 
out  by  agriculturists,  horse- jockeys,  and  others,  in  different 
individuals  of  the  same  species.  Peasants  find  that  horses 
with  large  foreheads  are  more  docile  than  those  with  small, 
and  therefore  put  them  at  the  head  of  the  team.  Jockeys 
distinguish  biting  and  stubborn  horses  by  the  configuration 
of  the  forehead.  These  observations,  however,  on  the  dif- 
ferent forms  of  the  head,  with  their  consequences,  were  made 
without  their  causes  being  inquired  into,  which  really  consist 
in  the  greater  or  smaller  developement  of  peculiar  cerebral 
parts.  In  fact,  comparative  anatomy  shows  that  in  the  lowest 
animals  the  brain  is  very  simple,  and  in  the  more  perfect, 
more  complex.  The  comparative  anatomy  and  physiology 
of  the  brain,  then,  may  contribute  greatly  to  determine  the 
organs.  Many  animals  are  mutilated,  so  to  speak,  by  nature ; 
and  it  is  not  necessary  to  effect  this  by  means  of  the  scalpel, 
to  determine  the  functions  of  the  cerebral  organs.  Dr. 
Vimont  has  pursued  this  object  with  great  assiduity  and 
success. 

The  anatomy  of  the  brain,  in  particular,  confirms  us  in 
establishing  the  organs.  First,  the  bundles  which  constitute 
them  are  distinct,  and  their  plurality,  consequently,  is  as 
evident  as  the  plurality  of  the  faculties.  Moreover,  some 
faculties  are  very  potent  and  have  a  great  sphere  of  activity, 
while  others  are  very  weak ;  the  size  of  the  respective  organs 
harmonizes  with  this  fact.  It  is  knovm,  for  instance,  that 
the  feelings  act  with  greater  energy  than  the  intellectual 
faculties,  and  anatomy  exhibits  a  corresponding  difference 
in  the  quantity  of  apparatus  apportioned  to  each  sort  of 
function.  Anatomy  also  shows,  that  the  various  cerebral 
parts  are  not  simultaneously  developed,  exactly  as  the  mani- 
festations of  the  mind  start  not  at  the  same  period  into 


MEANS  OF  DETERMINING  THE  ORGANS  123 

action.  In  short,  the  structure  of  the  brain  as  of  every 
other  part,  harmonizes  with  its  function.  In  an  appendix 
to  the  Anatomy  of  the  Brain  I  have  specified  the  individual 
organs,  and  sho^vn  the  difference  between  healthy  brain,  and 
that  of  an  idiot,  and  that  of  an  ourang  outang. 

The  diseases  and  injuries  of  the  brain  may  also  be  made 
a  means  of  determining  the  functions  of  its  individual  parts ; 
but  I  have  already  observed,  that  it  iSj  at  least,  a  very  uncer- 
tain one,  therefore,  secondary  and  indecisive,  though  inter- 
esting, when  combined  with  others  more  direct.  In  treating 
of  the  particular  organs,  I  shall  make  use  of  arguments 
drawn  from  this  source,  without,  however,  maintaining  that 
it  is  possible  to  point  out  peculiar  offices  solely  by  its  aid. 
Mental  alienations,  and  especially  partial  insanities,  mono- 
manise,  and  the  state  of  idiocy,  are  much  more  available  than 
accidental  injuries  of  the  brain.  In  idiots  from  birth,  the 
brain  is  either  small  or  distended  by  water.  In  partial 
insanities,  the  organs  whose  functions  are  most  deranged,  are 
commonly  more  developed  than  the  rest;  whoever  manifests 
a  certain  sentiment  or  intellectual  faculty  with  peculiar 
energy  will,  in  a  state  of  great  excitement,  exhibit  this 
faculty  predominantly.  I  never  saw  one  insane  from  pride, 
without  great  developement  of  the  organ  of  self-esteem.  It 
seems  to  me,  however,  that  very  great  developement  of  a 
particular  organ  is  not  indispensably  necessary  to  impress  its 
peculiar  character  upon  every  partial  insanity ;  for  any  part 
of  the  body,  in  general,  and  of  the  brain  in  particular,  may 
grow  more  irritable  than  the  rest;  the  energy,  therefore,  of 
each  cerebral  organ  may  increase,  and  produce  partial 
insanity. 

In  many  cases  of  monomanise,  the  part  of  the  head,  where 
the  diseased  organ  is  situated,  is  found  hot.  The  heads  of 
different  nations  offer  a  study  of  great  importance.  Several 
anatomists  and  physiologists  have  endeavored  to  point  out 
and  to  fix  particular  national  forms  of  head.  Their  observa- 
tions, though  very  defective,  are  still  rather  in  favor  of, 
than  in  opposition  to,  our  physiology  of  the  brain.  The 
foreheads  of  negroes  are  narrow,  and  their  musical  and 


124, 


PHRENOLOGY 


mathematical  talents  are,  in  general,  very  limited.  The 
Chinese  are  fond  of  colors,  and  have  the  eyebrows  much 
vaulted.  According  to  Blumenbach,  the  heads  of  the  Kal- 
mucks are  depressed  from  above,  but  very  large  laterally, 
about  the  organ  which  gives  the  inclination  to  acquire,  and 
this  nation's  propensity  to  steal,  &c.,  is  admitted.  In  like 
manner,  the  modes  of  thinking  and  feeling  of  different 
nations  may  be  compared  with  the  state  of  their  peculiar 
cerebral  organs,  indicated  by  peculiarity  of  cranial  config- 
uration. It  is  obvious  that  here  I  could  only  speak  of  the 
greater  number  of  individuals  in  every  nation,  and  the 
general  type  of  their  heads ;  for  the  modifications  are  in  all 
countries  infinite;  generally  speaking,  however,  there  are 
nations  whose  heads  are  longer  or  shorter,  higher  or  lower, 
narrower  or  broader,  &c.  Many  valuable  observations  might 
be  made  by  those  who  visit  distant  countries.  Let  us  hope 
that  they  will  pay,  at  least,  as  much  attention  to  the  study 
of  man,  as  to  that  of  animals  and  plants,  as  soon  as  they 
are  convinced  of  the  influence  exercised  by  the  brain  on  the 
manifestations  of  the  mind.  The  study  of  national  heads 
is  quite  in  its  infancy.  Blumenbach,  has  published  on  this 
interesting  subject,  without  perceiving  the  least  connexion 
between  cerebral  developement  and  mental  dispositions.  The 
same  reproach  may  be  addressed  to  Mr.  Bory  de  Saint 
Vincent,  and  others  who  treat  of  national  configurations  and 
primitive  races.  Blumenbach  admits  five  varieties  and  de 
Saint  Vincent  sixteen. 

It  is  easy  to  prove  by  positive  facts  that  the  Caucasian 
race  as  well  as  the  Ethiopian  of  Blumenbach  must  be  sub- 
divided into  various  families,  and  I  firmly  believe  that  the 
same  will  be  shown  in  reference  to  the  other  races  described 
by  Blumenbach  as  soon  as  naturalists  will  pay  more  attention 
to  this  branch  of  Anthropology.* 

*  First,  in  order  to  assist  travellers  in  their  phrenological  observations, 
I  propose  the  following  proceedings.  Let  them  attend  to  the  general 
constitution  of  the  body.  Second,  to  the  general  size  and  form  of  the 
head.  Third,  to  the  usual  description  of  the  face  and  its  parts ;  as 
nose,  mouth,  chin.    Fourth,  to  the  relative  developement  of  the  three 


MEANS  OF  DETERMINING  THE  ORGANS  125 


There  is  still  another  means  of  pointing  out  or  of  confirm- 
ing the  organs:  pathognomy,  mimicry,  or  the  natural 
language.  Every  internal  sentiment  is  proclaimed  outwardly 
by  certain  motions  of  the  head,  body,  or  limbs,  and  such 
external  manifestations  are  the  constant  and  inevitable  results 
of  activity  of  the  internal  faculties.  They  are,  also,  essen- 
tially the  same  in  all  nations  and  at  all  times.  I  shall  not 
here  enter  on  the  principles  of  the  doctrine  of  external  signs 
indicating  into  activity.  I  intend  to  treat  of  it  separately. 
I  here  mention  only  one  principle  having  relation  to  the 
seat  of  the  organs;  the  motions  are  always  conformable  to 
the  position  of  each.  If,  for  instance,  an  organ  situated  in 
the  posterior  part  of  the  brain  be  active,  the  general  motions 
will  be  backward;  and  if  in  the  forehead,  they  will  be 
forward,  &;c. 

By  all  these  means  continually  employed  to  multiply 
observations,  the  function  of  every  organ  may  be  determined, 
or  the  organ  of  every  mental  faculty  discovered.  It  is  known 
that  physical  science,  in  general,  improves  in  proportion  as 
experiments  and  observations  that  relate  to  it,  are  repeated. 
I  continue  to  collect  facts  and  invite  others  to  do  the  same, 
and  as  the  number  of  observations  in  favor  of  almost  all 


lobes  of  the  brain  corresponding  to  the  occipital,  middle,  and  frontal 
regions  of  the  head.  Fifth,  to  the  relative  elevation  and  breadth  of  the 
head.  Sixth,  to  the  relative  developement  of  the  basilar  and  sincipital 
regions.  Seventh,  to  the  relative  size  of  the  organs  of  the  animal 
feelings,  of  the  human  sentiments,  and  of  the  intellectual  faculties.  To 
that  effect,  let  a  line  be  drawn  from  the  anterior  edge  of  constructiveness 
at  the  temples,  upwards  to  the  temporal  ridge,  and  continued  along  this 
ridge  to  the  middle  of  the  upper  border  of  cautiousness,  and  then 
towards  the  mesial  line  of  the  head,  between  the  organs  of  conscientious- 
ness, and  love  of  approbation,  and  terminate  between  self-esteem  and 
firmness.  The  portion  of  brain  below  and  behind  this  line  contains 
the  organs  of  the  animal  feelings.  If  another  line  be  drawn  from  the 
anterior  edge  of  constructiveness  in  the  direction  of  the  upper  border  of 
tune,  causality  and  comparison,  the  cerebral  portion  between  the  two 
lines  is  the  seat  of  the  human  sentiments,  and  the  portion  before  the 
second  line,  is  the  forehead,  strictly  speaking,  and  the  residence  of  the 
intellectual  faculties.  Eighth,  to  the  relative  size  of  the  perceptive  and 
reflective  faculties.  Ninth,  and  lastly,  to  the  particular  developement 
or  defect  of  the  special  organs.  Four  degress  of  developement  may  be 
designated,  viz.  1,  predominant,  2,  large,  3,  moderate,  4,  small. 


126 


PHRENOLOGY 


organs  is  immense,  we  consider  them  as  established,  and  we 
must  be  permitted  to  insist  upon  the  correctness  of  our 
conclusions  so  long  as  no  contrary  facts  prove  that  we  are 
mistaken. 

It  is  often  said  that  our  observations  are  not  numerous 
enough  to  bear  out  our  conclusions.  Those  who  make  that 
objection  can  only  speak  from  mere  supposition,  without  the 
least  idea  of  the  numberless  facts  which  we  have  observed. 
They  ought  simply  to  bring  forth  contrary  facts,  or  remain 
silent,  in  a  science  they  have  not  examined  and  have  no 
desire  to  examine.  Hitherto  it  is  certain  that  all  those  who 
have  inquired  into  nature  herself,  whether  their  motive  was 
to  confirm  or  to  refute  Phrenology,  have  been  convinced  of 
its  reality. 

It  is  also  objected,  that  the  organs  cannot  be  verified, 
because  our  conclusions  are  drawn  only  from  individual  facts. 
But  this  is  the  case  with  every  physical  truth.  'No  physician 
has  observed  every  fact;  no  anatomist  has  seen  the  viscera 
of  every  human  being.  Yet,  reliance  on  the  stability  of 
natural  laws  bids  us  admit  all  physical  truths,  and  infer  the 
structure  and  position  of  the  viscera  to  be  the  same  in  indi- 
viduals who  have  not  been  opened,  as  in  those  who  have. 

It  has  even  been  said,  that  our  observations  might  be  true 
in  one  country  and  not  in  another.  Our  travels  have  refuted 
this  objection,  which  is  contrary  to  common  sense,  since  man- 
kind is  the  same  in  all  countries.  It  is  quite  impossible  to 
quote  the  whole  of  the  facts  already  collected.  I  can  only 
speak  of  results,  or  general  deductions  from  them.  More- 
over, no  one  can  arrive  at  personal  or  individual  conviction 
without  having  made  similar  observations.  Gall  admonished 
his  auditors  not  to  attempt  practising  Phrenology  on  account 
of  its  difficulty;  I  on  the  contrary  invite  every  inquirer  to 
repeat  the  observations  in  order  to  obtain  self-conviction. 
Yet  every  one  should  consider  it  a  duty  to  be  well  acquainted 
with  Phrenology,  before  making  any  application  of  it,  and 
be  aware  that  every  error  impedes  its  progress.  Many  be- 
ginners proceed  with  too  much  confidence  in  their 
phrenological  knowledge,  and  scarcely  doubt  of  their  being 


MEANS  OF  DETERMINING  THE  ORGANS  127 

liable  to  mistakes.  Let  it  be  remembered,  that  on  my  side 
I  can  only  show  what  is  to  be  observed  and  how  it  is  to  be 
done.  I  endeavor  to  advance  nothing  that  may  not  be  seen 
and  appreciated  by  every  other  person,  but  then  I  do  not 
listen  to  objections  grounded  upon  reasoning  alone,  and 
without  observation  as  a  basis ;  one  fact  is  to  me  more  positive 
and  decisive  than  a  thousand  metaphysical  opinions.  I  with 
Mr.  Abernethy,*  think  that  when  ^  books  of  this  kind  are 
published,  mutual  forbearance  is  requisite  on  the  part  both 
of  the  writer  and  the  reader.  The  former  should  not  expect 
his  work  to  be  approved  of,  till  the  latter  has  examined 
whether  his  representation  is  correct,  and  his  conclusions 
legitimately  drawn  from  the  facts  he  has  observed  and  col- 
lected. ITeither  should  the  reader  condemn  the  work  till  he 
has  examined  the  subject,  and  is,  in  consequence,  able  to 
point  out  the  errors  of  the  premises  or  conclusions.  The 
author's  view  of  a  subject  may,  indeed,  be  correctly  formed 
from  the  facts  which  he  himself  has  witnessed,  but  it  may 
differ  from  that  which  more  extensive  experience  would  have 
suggested.  For  this  difference  no  blame  can  properly  be 
attached  to  him;  he  relates  what  has  fallen  under  his  own 
observation,  and  invites  others  to  attend  to  the  same  facts.' 
I  really  think  that  every  one  who,  without  prejudice,  may 
take  the  trouble  to  examine  and  to  repeat  our  observations, 
will  be  convinced  of  the  solidity  of  our  principles  of  the 
physiology  of  the  brain,  the  certainty  of  which,  then,  will  be 
like  that  of  physiology  in  general,  but  not  mathematical. 

From  the  preceding  considerations  it  follows,  that  Gall 
compared  the  size  of  the  cerebral  parts  with  very  energetic 
actions,  and  with  determinate  characters,  in  order  to  discover 
the  organs  of  the  mind.  All  functions,  however,  differ  not 
only  in  quality  but  also  in  quantity,  and  there  are,  undoubt- 
edly, several  organic  conditions  which  contribute  to  bestow 
energy  and  to  modify  them  individually.  But,  the  size  of 
the  organs  is  the  most  easily  observed  condition,  and  there- 
fore attended  to  as  a  means  of  pointing  out  the  cerebral 


*  Surgical  Observations  on  Local  Diseases,  London,  1809,  Pref.  p.  vii. 


128 


PHRENOLOGY 


organs.  The  reader  then  must  remember  that  in  endeavor- 
ing to  discover  the  organs  of  the  mind,  in  other  words,  to 
determine  the  nature  of  the  functions  of  the  cerebral  masses, 
their  size  suffices,  though  the  organic  constitution,  or  the 
temperament  of  the  cerebral  organs,  is  another  very  important 
condition  to  their  natural  energy.  I  never  neglect  to  observe 
it,  and  they  are  therefore  mistaken  who  object  that  we  pay 
no  attention  to  the  organic  constitution  of  the  cerebral  parts, 
since  it  is  in  fact  a  leading  point  with  us,  that  every  funda- 
mental faculty  must  be  compared  with  its  appropriate  organ, 
not  in  individuals  of  different  kinds,  not  even  in  individuals 
of  the  same  species,  but  in  the  same  individual.  This  doctrine 
is  expressed  in  all  my  publications,  and  the  critical  reviewers 
had  no  right  to  state  the  contrary,  and  to  combat  their  mis- 
statement as  our  assertions.  If  we  examine  the  different 
degrees  of  activity  of  the  cerebral  organs,  it  is  necessary  to 
consider  not  only  their  size  and  organic  constitution,  but  also 
the  exercise  every  faculty  has  undergone,  and  the  mutual 
influence  of  the  whole. 

It  is  denied  that  the  natural  energy  of  the  mental  functions 
depends  on  the  size  and  organic  constitution  of  the  cerebral 
organs.  We  have  merely  to  answer,  that  experience  favors 
our  proposition.  It  may  even  be  shown  that  the  law,  under 
which  inorganic  and  organic  bodies  manifest  their  properties, 
in  relation  to  their  size,  is  quite  general  and  per^^ades  nature. 
A  large  loadstone  attracts  a  greater  mass  of  iron,  than  a 
small  one.  The  fermentation  of  liquids  is  more  energetic  as 
their  quantity  is  considerable.  Large  muscles  in  the  same 
person,  are  stronger  than  small.  If  the  nerves  of  the  ex- 
ternal senses  be  larger  on  one  side  of  the  body  than  on  the 
other,  the  functions  are  also  stronger  on  that  side.  Soemmer- 
ring  discovered  that  the  optic  nerve  of  man,  is  larger  than 
that  of  any  animal  in  proportion  to  the  eyeball,  and  that  the 
nerves  of  the  muscles  which  assist  the  external  senses  are 
unquestionably  thicker  than  those  of  the  other  muscles.  Why 
should  not  the  same  law,  that  energy  of  function  depends  on 
size,  hold  good  in  regard  to  the  cerebral  organs  ?  l^everthe- 
less,  by  reason  of  internal  constitution,  we  confine  our  ob- 


MEANS  OF  DETERMINING  THE  ORGANS 


129 


servations  entirely  to  individuals  in  obtaining  the  first  notions 
of  any  organ.  I  even  admit  the  possibility  of  the  internal 
constitution  of  the  different  cerebral  organs  varying  in  the 
same  individual,  for  instance  it  seems  that  the  intellectual 
organs  have  more  energy  in  proportion  to  their  size,  than 
the  organs  of  the  affective  faculties ;  and  the  optic  nerve  may 
be  more  irritable  than  the  auditory  or  the  olfactory;  yet,  it 
is  quite  certain  that  in  the  same  person,  great  difference  in 
the  size  of  the  cerebral  parts  produces  a  difference  in  the 
manifestations  of  the  respective  powers.  Indeed,  the  divers 
parts  of  the  brain  are  differently  developed;  one  is  large, 
another  small,  and  experience  has  convinced  us  that  the 
functions  of  parts  much  developed,  are  manifested  with 
more  energy  than  those  of  others  which  are  comparatively 
smaller. 

Thus,  Gall,  myself,  and  all  phrenologists,  determine  the 
nature  of  the  cerebral  functions  by  the  size  of  the  individual 
parts,  never  confounding  the  nature  of  the  functions  with 
their  different  degrees  of  energy.  The  region  of  the  intel- 
lectual organs  may  be  compared  with  that  of  the  affective 
powers,  and  the  basilar  region  with  the  sincipital.  Then 
four  degrees  of  cerebral  developement  may  be  pointed  out 
in  every  region,  viz.,  the  largest,  the  smallest,  and  two 
intermediate  degrees,  or  in  other  words,  the  predominant, 
large,  moderate,  and  small  organs. 

!N"ow,  the  question,  whether  it  is  possible,  during  life,  to 
distinguish  the  developement  of  the  cerebral  parts  in  man 
and  animals  immediately  presents  itself.  This  question, 
however,  must  be  separated  from  another,  viz.,  what  is  the 
cause  of  the  form  and  size  of  the  head?  This  latter  is  im- 
portant to  general  physiology,  but  its  investigation  forms  no 
essential  part  of  practical  phrenology,  which  only  requires 
certainty  on  the  possibility  of  knowing  the  size  of  the  cerebral 
parts,  without  being  held  to  examine  the  causes  of  their 
developement.  To  the  first  question  we  must  reply  differ- 
ently in  regard  to  comparative  anatomy,  for  it  is  not  always 
possible  to  compare  one  animal  with  another,  or  animals  with 
man.    It  is  also  necessary,  in  animals  and  in  man,  to  con- 

9 


130 


PHRENOLOGY 


sider  the  period  of  life.  In  the  human  kind  it  is  at  one  time 
easy  to  determine  the  size  of  the  cerebral  organs ;  sometimes, 
however,  circumstances  render  it  difficult;  and,  finally,  in 
certain  cases,  it  is  impossible. 

Considerations  in  relation  to  these  points  constitute,  strictly 
speaking,  the  doctrine  of  the  skull,  or  Craniology,  and  form 
the  subject  of  the  next  section. 


SECTION  VI. 

Craniology. 

This  name  designates  the  doctrine  of  the  skull,  but  by  no 
means  the  whole  of  our  inquiries ;  it  can  be  used  in  the  latter 
sense,  only  by  those  who  wish  to  depreciate  phrenology.  I 
subdivide  craniology  into  two  chapters.  In  the  first,  I  ex- 
amine the  cause  of  the  form  and  size  of  the  head;  and,  in 
the  second,  the  possibility  of  determining  the  size  of  the 
cerebral  organs.  Here  I  speak  only  of  the  human  kind,  but 
these  researches  may  be  extended  to  every  species  of  animal. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Cause  of  the  form,  and  size  of  the  Head. 

Whether  the  skull  or  the  brain  determines  the  form  of 
the  head,  is  a  common  question.  In  its  illustration,  I  shall 
consider  man  both  in  a  state  of  health  and  afflicted  with 
disease.  The  brain  of  the  foetus  in  utero  exists  before  it  is 
surrounded  by  a  bony  case;  it  is  covered  with  a  fourfold 
membraneous  coat:  the  pia  mater,  which  adheres  closely  to 
its  substance ;  the  tunica  arachnoides  or  arachnoid  coat,  which 
has  this  name  from  the  extreme  tenuity  of  its  texture;  the 
dura  mater,  which  consists  of  two  separable  layers;  and  a 
cartilaginous  membrane,  in  which  ossification  takes  place. 
This  fourfold  membraneous  coat  envelopes  the  brain,  and 
represents  its  external  form  exactly. 


CRANIOLOGY 


131 


Ossification  commences  at  different  places  or  points,  and 
extends  from  these  in  radii  to  the  extent  required  by  the 
size  and  form  of  the  cerebral  parts  which  are  to  be  included. 
The  bony  radiations  meet  nearer  or  more  distantly  from  the 
points  whence  they  sprung,  and  constitute  the  individual 
bones,  of  which  the  regular  and  connected  assemblage  forms 
the  skull.  At  birth,  there  are,  commonly,  eight  bones :  viz., 
two  frontal,  which  for  the  most  part,  soon  unite  and  form 
one ;  there  are  adults,  however,  whose  frontal  bone  is  divided ; 
two  parietal,  two  temporal,  one  sphenoidal,  one  occipital,  and 
one  ethmoidal.  These,  in  after-life,  are  connected  by  sutures 
or  articulations,  and  then  complete  a  bony  case  called  skull. 
In  new-born  children,  generally,  the  approaching  angles  of 
the  frontal  and  parietal  bones  are  not  ossified,  but  mem- 
braneous, and  the  space  left  between  them  is  called  fontanel. 
All  the  bones  are  at  this  time  very  thin  and  most  perfectly 
accommodated  to  the  form  and  size  of  the  brain.  It  may 
here  be  asked,  whether  any  difference  as  to  the  size  and  shape 
of  brain  be  perceptible  in  the  foetus?  Soemmerring  has 
replied  in  the  affirmative;  Gall  and  I  are  also  of  the  same 
opinion,  and  hold,  that  the  heads  of  foetuses  are  as  indubitably 
different  as  those  of  grown-up  persons. 

Moreover,  it  may  be  demanded  whether  the  form  of  the 
head  is  changed  during  the  birth;  and  also  whether  it  is 
possible  for  midwives  to  give  it  an  arbitrary  form  by  com- 
pression in  any  way?  The  head  of  the  foetus  when  long 
detained  in  the  passages  in  difficult  labors,  is  often  much 
compressed.  N^ature,  however,  has  taken  particular  care 
of  the  brain,  even  under  these  circumstances;  for  the  dura 
mater  which  envelopes  it,  adheres  to  the  skull  firmly,  and 
prevents  the  edges  of  the  bones  from  passing  over  each  other. 
The  prolongations  of  the  dura  mater,  known  under  the  names 
falciform  process  and  tentorium,  contribute  equally  to  its 
security;  and  further,  the  skull  forms  an  arch,  of  all  forms 
that  which  best  resists  opposing  forces.  The  brain  is  also  a 
living  part,  and  is  naturally  elastic.  The  tumors  commonly 
observed  on  the  upper  part  of  new-born  children's  heads,  are 
mere  accumulations  of  blood,  the  consequences  of  interrupted 


132 


PHRENOLOGY 


circulation;  after  a  few  hours  or  days  this  is  absorbed,  and 
the  swelling  disappears  entirely.  Transient  and  not  very 
violent  pressure,  therefore,  does  not  change  the  primitive 
form  of  the  brain.  Excessive,  it  will  undoubtedly  derange 
its  organization;  and  less  violent  but  permanent,  will  alter 
its  natural  form,  hinder  its  developement,  and  certainly 
injure  the  manifestations  of  the  mind.  If  individuals, 
whose  brains  are  compressed,  do  not  become  idiots,  their 
faculties  will  at  least  be  impaired. 

It  happens  sometimes  that  the  bones  of  the  skull  do  not 
touch  at  birth,  and  then  the  brain  is  compressed  during 
parturition,  and  the  child  dies.  This  fact  should  be  known 
and  considered  when  an  unfortunate  woman  is  accused  of 
having  murdered  her  offspring.  It  will  be  obvious,  that 
though  in  ordinary  cases  great  violence  would  be  necessary 
to  compress  the  brain,  yet,  in  effecting  delivery  with  the 
forceps,  this  may  readily  happen,  and  the  texture  of  the  brain 
be  injured ;  in  which  event  the  manifestations  of  the  mind 
would  be  injured  also.  These  observations  show,  that  up 
to  the  period  of  birth,  the  form  and  size  of  the  head  depend 
on  the  brain. 

From  this  epoch  the  skull  gains  hardness  and  solidity,  and 
some  may  ask,  does  the  hard  skull  then  yield  to  the  soft 
brain  ?  If  we  compare  a  child's  with  an  adult's  skull,  that 
of  the  adult  will  be  perceived  to  be  much  larger  than  that  of 
the  child;  the  skull,  consequently,  increases  in  capacity  in 
proportion  as  the  brain  augments  in  volume.  Moreover,  all 
the  cerebral  parts  do  not  arrive  at  their  complete  growth 
simultaneously;  a  similar  laAv  may  be  observed  in  regard  to 
the  developement  of  the  skull.  The  forehead,  for  instance, 
which  at  birth  is  narrow  and  flat,  widens  and  grows  more 
prominent  from  the  age  of  three  months  till  that  of  eight  or 
ten  years;  afterwards,  its  middle  part  does  not  appear  so 
much  developed  as  it  had  in  early  infancy.  Children's  necks 
are  very  small ;  for  the  cerebellum  which  increases  at  a  very 
late  period,  is  situated  in  the  inferior  occipital  fossae;  in 
proportion  as  it  grows,  however,  the  skull  projects  externally. 
This  law  is  quite  general. 


CRANIOLOGY 


133 


Some  explain  the  growth  of  the  skull  by  supposing  the 
brain  to  act  in  a  mechanical  way.  This  idea  is  incorrect. 
Were  the  brain  exposed  to  the  least  compression,  its  functions 
would  be  deranged.  The  phenomenon  of  growth,  in  fact, 
results  from  the  changes  which  every  organic  body  unceas- 
ingly undergoes.  There  is  a  perpetual  process  of  decomposi- 
tion and  reproduction  going  on  in  living  beings ;  the  matter 
w^hich  constitutes  our  body,  continually  evacuated  by  excre- 
tion, is  replaced  by  new  matter  furnished  by  alimentation. 
Like  all  other  parts  of  our  body,  the  brain  and  skull  are 
subjected  to  this  process;  and,  according  to  the  natural  law 
of  relation  established  between  the  skull  and  brain,  the  brain 
has  an  influence  on  the  directions  in  which  bony  matter  is 
to  be  deposited  to  form  the  skull.  If  the  w^hole  of  the  brain 
or  some  part  increase  or  decrease,  the  ossification  still  follows 
the  size  and  form  assumed.  Hard  parts,  indeed,  are  gener- 
ally adapted  to  the  size  and  form  of  the  soft  ones  they 
enclose.  In  consumption,  if  one  side  of  the  lungs  alone  be 
affected,  the  ribs  of  that  side  sink  down.  If  the  eye  be 
extirpated,  the  orbit  becomes  smaller ;  and  if,  on  the  contrary, 
it  grow  carcinomatous,  the  orbit  enlarges  as  the  eye-ball 
increases  in  size.  Precisely  so  does  the  internal  table  of  the 
skull  follow  the  brain  in  its  size  and  general  configuration. 

Let  us  now  cast  an  eye  on  the  changes  produced  by  old 
age  on  the  brain  and  skull.  The  cerebral  parts  begin  to 
diminish ;  the  convolutions,  which  in  youth  were  plump  and 
well  nourished,  are  flaccid,  shrivelled,  and  no  longer  packed 
closely  together.  In  proportion  as  the  brain  or  its  parts 
decrease,  they  are  followed  by  the  internal  table  of  the  skull, 
in  conformity  with  the  law  of  nutrition,  of  which  I  have  just 
spoken.  Frequently  the  external  table  to  the  end  of  life 
preserves  the  form  and  size  it  had  at  the  period  of  maturity ; 
the  skull,  in  consequence,  either  becomes  very  thick,  or  the 
two  tables  are  far  separated  from  each  other.  The  orbitary 
plate  of  the  frontal  bone  is  commonly  thin  and  transparent, 
yet,  in  old  persons,  whose  brain  has  diminished  in  size,  it 
sometimes  happens,  that  the  two  tables  of  which  it  consists 
are  separated;  the  inner  having  receded  to  a  great  distance 


134 


PHRENOLOGY 


from  the  outer.  From  these  data  it  results,  that  the  form 
of  the  skull  is  the  consequence  of  that  of  the  brain ;  that  from 
the  commencement  of  ossification  till  death  the  internal  table 
of  the  skull  is  moulded  after  the  fashion  of  the  brain;  and 
that  in  extreme  old  age  the  two  tables  are  often  separated, 
and  the  bone  thus  rendered  thicker  than  it  was  at  the  age 
of  maturity. 

Diseased  or  imperfect  state  of  the  brain  also  proved  this 
position  relative  to  the  contents  of  the  head  producing  the 
form  of  the  skull.  In  those  idiots  from  birth,  whose  brains 
have  never  increased  in  size,  the  skull  always. remains  small, 
{PI.  II.  fig.  1 ;)  on  the  contrary,  if  the  head  be  distended  by 
water,  the  skull  participates  in  the  expansion,  either  generally 
or  in  particular  situations.  (PL  /.  figs.  1  and  2.)  Portions  of 
bone  depressed  by  external  violence,  are  often  replaced  in 
their  first  levels  by  the  action  of  the  brain.  Fungi  of  the 
dura  mater  also  cause  the  absorption  of  the  skull  rather  than 
of  the  brain,  for  they  pierce  it  and  appear  externally.  All, 
therefore,  concurs  to  prove  that  the  form  and  size  of  the  brain 
essentially  contribute  to  regulate  the  form  and  size  of  the 
skull.  I  do  not,  however,  deny,  that  in  some  diseases  of  the 
skull,  the  ossific  process  may  be  primitively  altered,  the  brain 
impeded  in  its  developement  and  injured  in  its  functions. 
This  may  happen  in  some  children  who  die  under  convulsions 
from  an  inflammation  of  the  brain  when  the  blood  is  carried 
in  too  great  quantity  to  the  brain,  and  the  absorption  and 
increase  of  the  skull  are  not  quick  enough. 

It  is  an  error  to  suppose  that  the  impressions  which  cor- 
respond to  the  cerebral  convolutions,  and  the  blood  vessels 
of  the  dura  mater  on  the  internal  surface  of  the  skull,  are 
the  result  of  mechanical  pressure.  These  grooves  are  the 
effect  of  the  absorbent  vessels.  The  impressions  called 
digital,  occur  when  the  dura  mater  is  very  thin.  This,  in 
man,  occurs  commonly  at  the  basis :  in  individuals,  however, 
who  die  of  consumption,  the  dura  mater  is  sometimes  observed 
of  peculiar  delicacy  and  thinness  over  a  much  greater  extent, 
and  then  the  pits  pervade  almost  the  whole  of  the  internal 
surface  of  the  skull,  as  in  the  greater  number  of  mammiferous 
animals. 


CRANIOLOGY 


135 


OBJECTIONS. 

Several  opinions  relative  to  the  size  and  form  of  the  head 
are  quoted  as  objections  to  the  position,  that  in  the  healthy 
state  the  form  of  the  head  depends  on  that  of  the  brain. 

I. 

Walter,  Endolphi,  and  others,  maintain  that  a  nisus 
formativus,  or  formative  power,  determines  the  ossifica^tion 
and  consequent  shape  of  the  skull.  The  ossification  of  the 
skull  is  certainly  not  an  effect  of  the  presence  of  the  brain; 
the  bone  is  secreted  by  particular  vessels,  which  have  the 
power  of  modifying  the  internal  constitution  of  the  skull. 
The  earthy  particles  are,  nevertheless,  deposited  in  a  car- 
tilaginous coat,  having  the  form  and  size  of  the  brain.  Yet, 
we  must  here  allow,  that  when  the  brain  is  impeded  in  its 
developement,  and  water  collected  between  it  and  the  dura 
mater,  the  form  of  the  skull  is  still  similar  to  that  which  it 
would  have  presented  had  the  brain  been  in  a  natural  and 
healthy  state,  or  been  distended  by  water  accumulated  within 
its  cavities.  In  treating  of  hydrocephalus,  Section  III.,  I 
have  quoted  several  cases,  in  which  it  was  impossible  to 
decide  by  external  appearances  where  the  water  was  ac- 
cumulated. It  seems  to  me,  that  the  processes  or  prolonga- 
tions of  the  dura  mater,  called  tentorium  and  falciform 
process,  contribute  greatly  to  determine  the  form  of  the  head 
in  these  cases. 

II. 

Hufeland  remarked,  that  the  form  of  the  head  might 
probably  be  changed  in  the  countries  where  burdens  are 
borne  on  the  head,  ^^"ow,  in  the  first  place,  very  young  chil- 
dren bear  none;  and,  before  they  begin  to  do  so,  their  skulls 
are  fully  ossified  and  capable  of  great  resistance.  Secondly, 
those  who  bear  burdens  on  the  head,  use  cushions  or  rolls, 
so  that  pressure  is  received,  not  on  the  top  of  the  head  nor 
on  any  one  point,  but  diffused  over  a  large  surface,  including 
even  the  lateral  parts;  consequently,  the  head  cannot  be 


136 


PHRENOLOGY 


flattened  from  such  a  cause.  Moreover,  the  head  is  free 
from  burdens  during  the  greater  part  of  life.  Finally,  this 
opinion  is  refuted  not  only  in  theory,  but  also  by  experience. 
Gall  and  I  examined  many  individuals  who  had  carried 
loads  on  their  heads  from  youth  up  to  mature  years  and  old 
age,  and  whose  heads  were,  nevertheless,  much  higher  than 
those  of  others  who  had  never  borne  any  burden  whatever. 

HI. 

It  is  objected  that,  in  America,  several  tribes  of  savages 
give  arbitrary  forms  to  the  heads  of  their  children.  I  pre- 
tend not  to  say  that  such  reports  are  false,  but  I  am  far 
from  being  satisfied  with  what  has  been  said  of  the  Caribs 
to  that  purpose.  I  have  seen  several  skulls  of  Caribs;  they 
were  all  low  and  laterally  extended,  particularly  at  the  tem- 
poral bones;  yet  they  presented  as  marked  diversities  as  the 
skulls  of  any  European  nation  could  do.  I  have  also  seen 
skulls  of  Europeans  equally  low.  The  upper  surface  of  all 
the  Caribean  skulls  is  variously  vaulted,  and  bears,  except 
in  one,  no  marks  of  modelling  from  the  pressure  of  a  smooth 
and  level  board. 

I  have  interrogated  several  gentlemen  who  had  been  in 
the  island  of  St.  Vincent,  to  gain  information  on  the  attempts 
of  the  Caribs  to  deform  themselves.  The  accounts  were  all 
in  contradiction  to  each  other,  and  I  am  still  in  a  state  of 
complete  uncertainty. 

In  reference  to  the  cause  producing  the  configuration  of 
the  Caribean  skull,  I  have  farther  reason  to  doubt.  Through- 
out Europe,  the  foreheads  even  of  new-bom  children  are 
higher  and  more  prominent  than  those  of  adult  Caribs. 
Caribs  are,  therefore,  either  born  with  foreheads  as  low  as  we 
see  in  the  skulls,  and  their  farther  developement  is  prevented 
by  artificial  pressure;  or  their  foreheads  are  higher  from 
birth,  and  are  afterwards  flattened  or  depressed  by  art.  I 
have  heard  various  statements  as  to  the  period  during  which 
the  board  is  applied  to  the  head :  one  gentleman  told  me  that 
it  is  worn  for  six  weeks  only;  another  assured  me  that  it  is 
borne  six  months;  a  third,  that  it  is  kept  on  during  two 


CRANIOLOGY 


137 


years.  Admitting  the  last  period  to  be  correct,  I  am  not  yet 
convinced  of  the  reality  of  its  pretended  effect  on  the  con- 
figuration of  the  forehead.  At  two  years  of  age,  the  cerebral 
parts  situated  there  have  not  acquired  their  full  develope- 
ment;  the  foreheads  of  Caribs,  when  arrived  at  maturity  of 
years,  must  certainly  be  larger  than  when  still  in  infancy. 
Isow,  as  the  constituent  particles  of  the  brain  and  skull,  as 
well  as  of  the  rest  of  the  body,  are  changed  perpetually,  and 
as  pressure  is  not  continued  during  after-life,  the  future 
developement  of  the  brain  might  go  on  unimpeded. 

JSTotwithstanding  these  skeptical  observations,  it  is  certain 
that  various  ancient  tribes  in  America  gave  to  their  heads 
artificial  forms,  and  that  the  flat-headed  Indians  of  ]N'orth 
America  owe  the  depression  of  their  heads  to  artificial  means, 
and  that  a  constant  pressure  alters  the  shape  of  the  skull. 
I  even  consider  this  a  question  of  the  highest  importance ; 
and  I  certainly  do  greatly  wish  that  it  were  possible  to 
prevent,  by  artificial  pressure,  the  growth  of  certain  parts 
of  the  brain.  But  in  examining  flat-headed  Indians  after 
death,  or  in  instituting  in  animals  a  series  of  experiments  on 
the  effects  of  pressure  upon  the  configuration  of  the  skull  and 
the  organization  of  the  brain  it  would  be  necessary  to  observe, 
whether  the  developement  of  the  cerebral  parts  was  entirely 
impeded,  or  whether  the  compressed  parts  increased  in 
another  direction,  so  that  the  form  of  the  head  alone  was 
altered. 

IV. 

A  great  number  of  anatomists  and  physiologists  maintain 
that  the  form  of  the  head  is  modified  by  its  muscles,  and 
that  several  elevations  ascribed  to  the  developement  of  the 
subjacent  brain  are  effects  of  muscular  action.  There  are, 
indeed,  many  bony  processes  on  the  skull,  but  they  are  effects 
neither  of  cerebral  developement  nor  of  muscular  action: 
these  elevations  are  for  the  insertion  of  muscles.  I  here 
speak  only  of  those  forms  and  of  those  protuberances  of  the 
skull  which  I  consider  as  corresponding  to  developement  of 
brain. 

Those  who  assert  the  influence  of  the  muscles  upon  the 


138 


PHRENOLOGY 


form  of  the  head,  do  not  agree  about  their  effects:  some 
maintain  that  they  depress  the  organs;  others,  that  they 
produce  elevations.  It  is  easy,  however,  to  prove  that  they 
have  not  the  slightest  influence  on  the  form  of  the  skull. 

If  the  muscles  really  did  determine  the  form  of  the  skull, 
they  ought,  obviously,  to  act  in  the  direction  of  their  inser- 
tions; and  the  protuberances  of  the  occiput  and  sides  of  the 
head  ought  then  to  be  directed  dov^nwards,  not  backwards  and 
sidewise.  There  ought  also  to  be  some  proportion  between 
the  size  of  these  protuberances  and  the  strength  of  the  muscles 
inserted  into  them ;  but  it  often  happens  that  large  protuber- 
ances correspond  to  weak  muscles,  and  vice  versa.  ITegroes, 
indeed,  have  larger  masticating  muscles  than  Europeans,  and 
their  heads  are  also  narrower  across  the  temporal  region. 
From  this  fact  some  anatomists  have  concluded  that  the 
muscles  compress  the  skull.  At  variance  with  this,  however, 
we  see  that  while  the  basilar  region  of  the  skull,  covered 
with  muscles,  is  narrower  than  the  upper  in  children,  it  is 
quite  the  contrary  in  adults.  Europeans  who  have  very  weak 
masticating  muscles  and  wide  heads,  and  others  who  have 
strong  muscles  and  narrow  heads  may  be  met  with  every  day. 
Lions,  tigers,  hyenas,  and  dogs,  are  much  narrower  at  the 
temples  than  oxen,  horses,  stags,  &c. ;  the  former,  it  is  true, 
have  stronger  masticating  muscles  than  the  latter,  but  women 
have  weaker  muscles  and  narrower  heads,  whilst  men  have 
stronger  muscles  and  wider  skulls. 

Moreover,  according  to  the  hypothesis  which  I  am  combat- 
ing, the  muscles  ought  to  act  upon  the  external  table  of  the 
skull,  and  make  it  recede  from  the  internal,  yet  the  two  are 
absolutely  so  near  at  the  places  where  muscles  are  inserted, 
that  the  skull  becomes  transparent.  It  sometimes  happens 
that  the  skull  grows  thick  in  old  persons,  or  in  consequence  of 
chronic  diseases  of  the  brain,  because  the  internal  plate 
shrinking,  diminishes  the  cavity  of  the  skull,  while  the 
external  one  preserves  its  elevation  and  form. 

The  processes  or  depressions  of  the  skull  ought,  also,  to 
be  not  only  proportionate  to  the  strength  of  the  muscles,  but 
likewise  to  the  time  during  which  they  have  acted — circum- 


CRANIOLOGY 


139 


stances  which,  however,  are  not  observed.  And  were  the 
protuberances  or  depressions  produced  by  the  muscles,  they 
ought  to  be  conformable  to  the  forms  of  their  insertion ;  but 
what  muscle  can  produce  the  figure  of  the  organs  we  have 
indicated,  as  of  amativeness,  destructiveness,  constructive- 
ness,  &c.  ?  The  form  of  these  protuberances,  in  fact,  always 
corresponds  to  that  of  the  cerebral  parts,  whose  great 
developement  occasions  them. 

Besides,  there  are  many  protuberances  where  no  muscles 
are  attached,  as  those  which  indicate  firmness,  veneration, 
benevolence,  self-esteem,  and  circumspection.  What  muscle 
draws  the  skull  outwards  in  the  direction  of  those  eminences  ? 
In  many  animals,  as  in  the  hog,  ox,  elephant,  &c.,  the  tables 
of  the  skull  are  far  separated,  but  the  cells  formed  in  the 
interval  are  irregular,  and  never  correspond  to  the  insertion 
of  muscles.  If  the  muscles  arise  from  the  interior  of  the 
skull,  as  in  the  tortoise,  the  head  ought  to  be  small  and 
contracted,  and  the  orbit  of  the  higher  animals  ought  by 
degrees  to  grow  smaller;  as  there  are  muscles  attached  to  its 
internal  surface,  l^either  of  these  circumstances,  however, 
occurs. 

Finally,  in  the  foetal  state,  muscles  do  not  act  with  force 
enough  to  influence  in  any  way  the  form  of  the  head ;  which, 
however,  differs  as  much  as  in  adult  age.  Thus  it  is  evident, 
that  muscles  do  not  determine  the  form  of  the  skull. 

Y. 

Professor  Ackermann,  of  Heidelberg,  thought  that  the 
frontal  sinuses  of  man,  and  the  cells  between  the  tables  of 
the  skulls  of  animals,  were  produced  during  inspiration ;  the 
air,  according  to  him,  gradually  distending  them.  He  main- 
tained that  very  active  individuals  who  take  much  exercise  in 
walking  and  running,  have  larger  sinuses  than  usual,  and  that 
animals  which  live  in  the  open  air,  and  inspire  a  great  deal 
of  it,  have  the  greater  number  of  cells  in  their  skulls. 
Several  considerations,  however,  prove  this  assertion,  which  is 
not  grounded  upon  experiments,  but  hypothetically  advanced, 
to  be  erroneous. 


140 


PHRENOLOGY 


The  possibility  of  the  air  exerting  any  distensive  powers, 
supposes  a  great  cavity  already  existing,  into  which  it  must 
be  received;  but  how  has  this  space  between  the  two  tables 
of  the  skulls  been  first  produced?  Let  us,  however,  admit 
the  sinuses  formed  and  the  air  drawn  into  them,  and  then 
ask,  what  may  be  its  action  ?  Ackermann  imagines  that,  being 
warmed,  it  distends  the  cells  by  expanding.  Is  it  not,  however, 
more  probable  that  it  would  rather  escape  by  the  aperture 
through  which  it  had  entered,  than  act  with  such  force  as  to 
distend  them  ?  Even  supposing  that  the  air  did  distend  the 
cells,  they  ought  to  be  like  bladders,  and  not  angular,  as  they 
are.  Moreover,  they  do  not  all  communicate;  there  are  also 
cells  in  the  bones  of  the  extremities,  even  in  the  foetus,  to 
which  the  air  never  penetrates;  why  then  should  not  cells 
be  also  originally  formed  between  the  tables  of  the  skull  ? 
Finally,  Professor  Ackermann's  opinion  is  a  mere  supposi- 
tion. I  know  individuals  of  sedentary  habits  who  have  large 
sinuses,  and  others  who  live  much  in  the  open  air  and  have 
none.  The  ox,  too,  and  hog  have  larger  cranial  cells  than 
the  stag,  roe,  and  reindeer;  the  lazy  owl,  than  the  active 
eagle;  and  the  stork,  wild" duck,  wild  goose  and  swallow,  have 
none  whatever,  notwithstanding  their  frequent  and  rapid 
flights.    Ackermann's  opinion,  therefore,  falls  to  the  ground. 

In  concluding  this  chapter,  I  repeat  that  these  considera- 
tions on  the  cause  of  the  size  and  form  of  the  head  are 
interesting  to  physiologists,  but  are  in  nowise  connected  with 
phrenology  as  a  practical  science.  The  business  of  phre- 
nology is  to  show,  that  there  is  a  relation  between  the 
manifestations  of  feelings  and  intellectual  faculties,  and  size 
and  form  of  cerebral  parts ;  and  that  the  size  of  the  cerebral 
parts  can  be  distinguished  by  the  external  configuration 
of  the  head.  Let  us  then  examine,  in  detail,  this  second 
point  of  craniology. 


CRANIOLOGY 


141 


CHAPTER  II. 

It  is  in  general  possible  to  distinguish  the  size  of  the  Brain 
and  its  Parts,  by  examining  the  external  Surface  of  the 
Head  or  Skull. 

This  proposition  is  to  be  regarded  under  three  points  of 
view.  First,  it  is  possible  and  even  easy  to  distinguish  the 
size  of  the  cerebral  organs  ;  secondly,  we  meet  with  various 
difficulties  and  obstacles  to  this ;  and,  thirdly,  it  is  sometimes 
impossible. 

I.  Possibility  of  distinguishing  the  Size  of  the  Brain 
and  its  parts. 

This  study  must  be  begun  by  acquiring  exact  notions  of 
the  different  forms  and  sizes  of  heads  in  general,  and  of  their 
particular  regions ;  the  common,  too  large,  {PI.  I.  fig.  1  and 
2,)  or  too  small  size  of  a  head,  {PI.  II.  fig.  1,)  must  be 
known.  The  antiques  can  only  be  made  use  of  with  certain 
restrictions,  for  they  are  generally  colossal.  It  is  remarkable, 
however,  that  their  form  and  size  vary  universally.  What 
a  difference,  for  instance,  between  the  heads  of  women  and 
men,  of  gladiators,  high-priests,  philosophers,  great  poets,  gen- 
erals, and  others.  It  is  evident  that  the  ancient  artists 
understood  the  animal,  moral,  and  intellectual,  regions  of 
the  head. 

The  next  point  should  be  to  acquire  precise  ideas  of  the 
difference  between  the  size  and  shape  of  the  head  and  of 
the  skull.  The  skull  in  all  its  dimensions  is  smaller,  but 
still  preserv^es  the  general  figure  of  the  head  unimpaired. 

The  skull,  as  I  have  said  already,  is  composed  of  two  tables, 
between  which  lies  a  cellular  spongy  mass,  called  diploe. 
These  tables,  scarcely  perceptible  in  infancy,  are  distinct  in 
adults,  but  their  distance  is  so  very  inconsiderable,  that,  in 
general,  up  to  the  period  when  the  brain  begins  to  diminish 
in  size,  it  is  not  only  possible,  but  easy,  to  determine  its 
size  and  form  by  examining  the  skull, — for  there  is  never 
any  space  between  the  skull  and  the  brain,  and,  as  I  have 


143 


PHRENOLOGY 


said,  the  two  tables  are  not  sufficiently  distant  to  oppose  any 
obstacle  to  accuracy. 

It  is  however  objected,  that,  because  the  tables  are  not 
parallel,  it  is  impossible  to  measure  the  size  and  form  of  the 
brain  and  its  parts  from  the  size  and  form  of  the  skull.  This 
objection  falls  to  the  ground  as  soon  as  our  procedure  is 
known.  It  is  by  no  means  necessary  to  appreciate  very 
minute  differences  of  size,  in  order  to  determine  the  develope- 
ment  of  the  cerebral  organs.  These  occupy  extensive  sur- 
faces, and  are  of  very  different  volumes  between  their  lowest 
and  highest  states  of  developement  in  the  different  regions. 
Let  it  be  understood,  that  the  idea  of  size  of  organs,  is  not 
to  be  confounded  with  the  notion  of  protuberances.  Every 
individual  in  the  healthy  state  has  all  the  organs;  the  only 
point  to  be  determined,  is,  whether  the  whole  brain,  or  one, 
or  several  of  its  parts,  be  large  or  small,  and  the'  mutual 
relations  of  the  organs  are  to  be  borne  in  mind.  If  one  be 
much,  and  those  in  its  neighborhood  very  little  developed, 
the  large  organ  presents  a  protuberance ;  but  if  the  neighbor- 
ing ones  be  proportionally  developed,  the  surface  remains 
smooth.  'Now  this  may  happen  whether  the  organs  are  small 
or  large.  It  is  also  necessary  not  to  confound  bony  ex- 
crescences and  irregular  elevations  with  those  protuberances 
which  indicate  developement  of  particular  organs.  More- 
over, it  is  necessary  to  know  those  bony  elevations  which 
occur  regularly,  as  the  mastoid  process  behind  the  ear,  the 
spina  cruciata  of  the  occiput,  the  zygomatic  process  before 
the  ear,  &c.,  and  which  are  no  indication  of  cerebral  develope- 
ment. It  may  be  well  to  state,  that  it  is  not  always  necessary 
to  touch  the  head  to  ascertain  the  size  and  form  of  the  cerebral 
organization ;  the  size  and  sense  of  sight  often  suffices.  The 
size  of  the  organs  situated  in  the  forehead,  is  even  more 
easily  distinguished  by  sight  than  by  touch.  It  is  necessary 
to  feel  the  organs  only  which  are  covered  with  hair. 

Finally,  the  developement  of  the  cerebral  organs  differs  in 
regard  to  length  and  breadth;  for  the  fibres  which  compose 
them  are  sometimes  thick  and  short,  sometimes  thick  and 
long,  or  slender  and  short,  or  slender  and  long.    This  dif- 


CRANIOLOGY 


143 


ference  of  developement  must  have  some  influence  on  the 
manifestations  of  the  faculties.  Long  fibres  seem  to  produce 
more  activity,  and  thick  fibres  more  intensity. 

II.    Difficulties  of  distinguishing  the  Size  of  certain 
Parts  of  the  Brain. 

Every  science  has  its  difficulties,  and  Phrenology  is  not 
exempt  from  them.  They  are  more  or  less  important,  and 
more  or  less  easily  overcome.  Platner,  of  Leipzig,  has  said, 
that  the  size  of  the  organs  situated  in  the  middle  line  of  the 
head  cannot  be  determined,  as  the  longitudinal  sinus  runs 
there.  But  this  venous  canal  is  too  small,  to  prevent  the 
developement  of  the  organs  on  each  side  of  it  from  being 
ascertained,  for  they  are  much  broader.  The  hemispheres 
of  the  brain  being  sometimes  a  little  separated,  there  is  then 
a  slight  groove  along  its  course.  The  organs  of  philoprogen- 
itiveness,  self-esteem,  and  firmness  are  frequently  found  with 
a  channel  in  their  middle.  He  who  knows  Phrenology, 
how^ever,  cannot  be  misled  by  this. 

In  appreciating  the  size  of  the  organs  on  the  sides  of  the 
head,  particularly  of  constructiveness,  acquisitiveness,  and 
secretiveness,  the  thickness  of  muscle  which  covers  them  must 
be  taken  into  account,  and  ascertained  by  touch.  Large 
temporal  muscles  may  be  supposed  if  those  of  the  face  in 
general  are  bulky.  Those  who  begin  to  practice  Phrenology, 
find  a  difficulty  in  the  frontal  sinus,  and  many  adversaries 
even  maintain  that  it  is  impossible  to  determine  the  state  of 
the  cerebral  parts  situated  behind  it.  This  objection  is 
particularly  applied  to  the  organs  of  individuality,  size, 
weight,  and  locality.  The  first  thing  to  be  known,  and  which 
truly  concerns  Phrenology,  is  to  ascertain  how  far  the  size 
of  the  cerebral  parts  situated  about  and  above  the  root  of 
the  nose,  can  be  distinguished  by  the  external  appearance  of 
the  head  or  skull.  It  is  evident  that  the  difficulty  in  question 
is  confined  to  a  small  portion  of  the  forehead,  and  cannot  be 
reasonably  objected  against  Phrenology  in  general.  Farther, 
it  is  important  to  conceive  a  clear  idea  of  the  meaning  of 
sinus.    This  expression  means  hole.    'Row  any  opponent, 


144 


PHRENOLOGY 


possessing  a  skull  with  frontal  holes,  thinks  himself  author- 
ized, or  flatters  himself  to  be  able,  to  upset  the  whole  of 
Phrenology  without  showing  the  circumstances  of  the  skull 
in  his  possession. 

There  is  sometimes  a  hole  or  empty  space  between  the  two 
tables  of  the  skull  in  the  forehead,  though  they  are  not  more, 
and  often  even  less,  distant  from  each  other  than  in  others 
where  the  same  part  of  the  forehead  is  filled  up  with  diploe. 
'Now  such  holes  cannot  be  considered  as  a  difficulty  in  the 
study  of  Phrenology.  The  essential  point  to  be  considered 
is  the  distance  between  the  two  tables  of  the  skull.  This  is 
little  in  young  children  and  increases  with  age.  It  happens, 
also,  that  in  adults  a  bony  crest  is  perceived  at  the  edge  of 
the  superciliary  arch,  which,  evidently,  cannot  be  taken  as 
an  indication  of  cerebral  developement  whether  it  be  hollow 
or  filled  up  with  diploe.  E'ow,  if  in  these  two  sorts  of  cases, 
we  make  abstraction  of  the  external  crest,  the  internal  table 
will  not  be  found  more  inward,  than  in  other  persons  of  the 
same  age,  whose  foreheads  do  not  present  such  a  crest. 

When  the  intellectual  faculties,  principally  the  perceptive 
,  powers,  lose  their  energy,  and  in  chronic  insanity  the  brain 
and  internal  table  of  the  skull  often  retreat,  whilst  the 
external  appearance  of  the  forehead  remains  unchanged ;  and 
in  such  cases  it  is  impossible  to  make  phrenological  observa- 
tions. Thus,  I  admit  that  the  frontal  sinus  or  space  between 
the  two  tables  of  the  frontal  bone,  in  adults,  throws  some 
uncertainty  over  the  state  of  the  organs  of  individuality  and 
size;  a  single  difficulty,  however,  is  not  to  cause  the  whole 
of  a  science  to  be  rejected;  it  should  only  invite  the  prac- 
titioner to  be  more  careful  in  his  decisions.  But  if  the 
frontal  sinus  be  very  large  and  occupy  a  greater  part  of  the 
forehead,  if  the  brain  had  suffered  from  old  age  or  from  any 
chronic  disease,  then,  phrenological  observations  are  no  more 
possible,  as  will  be  mentiond  hereafter. 

The  cerebral  parts,  situated  around  and  behind  the  orbit, 
also  require  some  care  and  experience  on  the  part  of  the 
phrenologist,  to  be  judged  of  accurately.  Their  develope- 
ment is  discoverable  from  the  position  of  the  eye-ball,  and 


CRANIOLOGY 


145 


from  the  figure  of  the  superciliary  ridge.  According  as  the 
eye-ball  is  prominent  or  hidden  in  the  orbit,  depressed  or 
pushed  sidewise,  inward,  or  outward,  we  may  judge  of  the 
developement  of  the  organs  situated  around  and  behind  it. 

It  may  be  questioned  whether  all  organs  reach  the  surface ; 
and,  consequently,  whether  all  faculties  of  the  mind  may  be 
determined  by  the  size  and  shape  of  the  head.  There  are 
many  convolutions,  it  is  true,  in  the  middle  line  between  the 
two  hemispheres  of  the  brain,  and  others  at  the  basis  and 
between  the  anterior  and  middle  lobes  which  do  not  appear 
on  the  surface ;  but  it  seems  to  me  that  a  great  part,  at  least, 
of  every  organ  does  present  itself  there,  and  farther,  that 
all  the  parts  of  each  organ  are  equally  developed,  so  that 
though  a  portion  only  appear,  the  state  of  the  whole  may  be 
inferred.  The  whole  cerebellum  reaches  not  the  skull,  yet  its 
function  may  be  determined  from  the  part  which  does.  The 
cerebral  parts,  situated  in  the  middle  line  between  the  hemi- 
spheres, seem  proportionate  to  the  superincumbent  convolu- 
tions; at  least,  I  have  always  observed  a  proportion,  in  the 
vertical  direction,  between  them. 

The  greatest  difficulty  is  when  any  organ  is  so  much 
developed  as  to  push  its  neighbors  from  the  places  they 
commonly  occupy.  There  are  two  varieties  of  this  case; 
either  a  single  organ  is  extremely  large,  or  several  are  very 
voluminous,  and  the  surface  remains  almost  smooth.  In  the 
first  case  the  difficulty  is  not  very  great;  for  every  organ 
having  its  own  form  and  its  particular  direction,  it  is  only 
necessary  to  recall  these,  in  order  to  ascertain  which  it  is. 
It  requires  more  practical  skill,  when  several  neighboring 
organs  are  almost  equally  developed;  but  even  then,  the 
direction  of  the  protuberance  and  its  most  prominent  point 
facilitate  decision. 

Against  Phrenology  it  is  farther  objected,  that  though  it  be 
possible  to  measure  the  form  and  size  of  the  brain  by  the 
form  and  size  of  the  head,  it  is  yet  impossible  to  determine 
the  size  of  the  organs  by  the  size  of  the  head  or  skull,  because 
they  are  not  confined  to  the  surface  or  to  the  convolutions  of 
the  brain.    It  is  indeed  true,  that  the  organs  are  not  confined 

10 


146 


PHRENOLOGY 


to  the  surface  of  the  brain ;  they  extend  from  thence  to  the 
great  swelling  called  corpora  striata  and  optic  thalami,  and 
several  even  to  the  medulla  oblongata,  and  they  probably  in- 
clude the  commissures;  but  as  the  peripheric  expansions  of 
the  five  senses  indicate  the  developement  of  their  respective 
nerves,  so  the  convolutions  of  the  brain  proclaim  the  develope- 
ment of  its  whole  mass.  This  will  be  understood  by  analogy : 
animals  which  have  a  large  external  apparatus  of  smell,  large 
nostrils,  large  turbinated  bones,  and,  consequently,  a  very 
considerable  nervous  expansion  upon  the  pituitary  membrane, 
have  the  olfactory  nerve  very  much  developed.  In  the  same 
manner  the  retina  or  expansion  of  the  optic  nerve,  is  in 
proportion  to  the  nerve  itself;  such  also  is  the  case  with  the 
organs  of  the  feelings  and  intellectual  faculties.  The  con- 
volutions are  peripheric  expansions  of  internal  nervous 
bundles,  to  which  they  consequently  bear  proportion;  it  is 
therefore  possible  to  determine  the  whole  mass  of  the  organs 
from  merely  viewing  the  convolutions. 

III.    Impossibility  of  determining  the  Size  of  the  Brain, 

It  still  remains  for  me  to  speak  of  those  cases  in  which  the 
form  and  size  of  the  brain  and  of  its  parts  are  not  indicated 
by  the  form  and  size  of  the  head.  According  to  a  general 
law  of  organic  parts,  the  brain,  as  it  has  increased  gradually 
and  for  a  term,  begins  also,  after  the  period  of  maturity,  to 
decrease  by  degrees ;  the  convolutions,  which  were  plump  and 
prominent  in  youth,  sink  and  part  from  each  other,  and  the 
composition  of  their  parts  being  no  longer  equal  to  their 
decomposition,  their  size  diminishes.  Then  it  is  that  the 
skull,  as  to  external  form  and  size,  often  remains  the  same, 
whilst  its  internal  table,  following  the  brain,  makes  it  become 
thick  and  spongy ;  the  diploe  being  at  the  same  time  not  only 
more  considerable,  but  the  tables  less  solid.  Sometimes  this 
shrinking  of  the  brain  goes  on  unequally,  and  then  the  skull 
is  very  thick  in  one  place  and  very  thin  in  others.  Some- 
times, also,  the  whole  grows  thin.  In  these  cases  where  the 
deposition  and  absorption  in  the  bone  are  unequal,  or  the 
skull  thin,  it  may  happen  that  such  skulls  are  broken  or 


CRANIOLOGY 


147 


depressed  by  blows,  whose  slightness  would  not  have  done 
the  least  harm  at  the  age  of  maturity.  Thus  old  and  decrepit 
persons  cannot  serve  to  confirm  the  doctrine  of  Phrenology, 
because  it  is  impossible  to  judge  accurately  of  the  size  of  their 
brain  from  the  size  of  their  head,  and,  also,  because  the 
organs  are  not  very  active  at  this  age.  Yet,  to  discover  and 
to  establish  the  physiology  of  the  brain,  it  is  sujficient  to 
confine  our  observations  to  individuals,  before  the  flower  of 
mature  years  begins  to  fade. 

In  certain  cases  of  chronic  insanity,  too,  the  brain  dimin- 
ishes in  size,  as  other  nerves  do,  when  they  have  been  long 
diseased,  and  the  internal  table  follows  it,  while  the  external 
one  preserves  its  usual  position.  These  also  are  cases  in 
which  the  size  and  form  of  the  skull  do  not  indicate  the  size 
and  form  of  the  brain.  The  skulls  of  the  insane  are  often 
very  thick;  but  their  texture  is  not  so  generally  spongy  as 
hard,  dense,  and  heavy,  like  ivory.  Thickening,  however,  is 
not  a  necessary  accompaniment  of  their  augmented  density 
and  weight. 

Sir  E,  Home,  in  his  observations  on  this  subject,  errs  in 
classing  together  depression  of  the  skull  by  external  violence 
and  thickening  of  its  different  portions.  He  has  no  idea  of 
cerebral  diminution  as  a  cause  of  the  skull's  increased  thick- 
ness, but  always  considers  this  as  occasioning  such  changes  as 
he  observed  in  the  brain.  Dr.  Baillie,  in  his  Morbid  Anat- 
omy, does  the  same.  Yet,  disease  often  begins  in  the  brain, 
and  is  propagated  to  the  skull.  I  do  not  deny,  however,  that 
the  skull  may  be  diseased,  and  exercise  a  pernicious  influence 
on  the  brain. 

Researches  relative  to  the  skulls  of  alienated  persons, 
though  important  to  physiology  and  pathology  in  general,  and 
intimately  connected  with  Phrenology,  are  not  essential  to  it, 
in  as  far  as  determination  of  the  functions  of  the  brain  is 
concerned.  I  even  admit,  in  those  individuals  who  have 
been  long  diseased,  the  impossibility  of  measuring  accurately 
the  size  of  the  brain  and  its  parts  from  the  size  and  shape 
of  the  head.  Por  farther  information  relative  to  the  causes 
of  the  density  and  thickness  of  the  skulls  of  the  insane,  I 
refer  to  my  work  on  Insanity. 


148 


PHRENOLOGY 


SECTION  VII. 

Division  of  the  Faculties  of  the  Mind,  and  Nomenclature. 

Philosophers  have,  at  all  times,  thought  it  necessary  to 
make  divisions  and  subdivisions  among  the  faculties  of  the 
mind.  Gall  rejects  all  which  have  hitherto  been  conceived 
or  admitted:  the  division  into  instinct  in  animals,  and 
understanding  in  man;  that  of  the  human  mind  into  under- 
standing and  will,  and  the  subdivision  of  understanding 
into  attention,  memory,  judgment,  and  imagination;  and  of 
will  into  inclination,  propensity,  desire  and  passion.  He 
admits  various  faculties  of  the  mind,  but  thinks  that  all 
manifest  the  same  modes  of  action;  he  therefore  denied  the 
possibility  of  classing  the  mental  powers  in  kinds,  according 
to  their  distinctive  nature.  He  first  speaks  of  the  external 
senses  and  their  apparatus,  and  then  of  the  internal  faculties 
and  their  organs,  beginning  at  the  basis  of  the  brain  and 
finishing  at  its  summit,  taking  only  the  situation  of  the  re- 
spective organs  as  a  guide  to  the  order  of  his  descriptions. 

I  agree  with  Gall,  that  the  divisions  of  the  mental  faculties, 
as  hitherto  established  by  philosophers,  are  incorrect,  but  I 
do  not  think  with  him,  that  the  cerebral  organs  are  susceptible 
of  the  same  modes  of  action.  I  conceive  it  possible  to  divide 
them,  and  to  establish  a  new  classification  according  to  their 
special  and  characteristic  functions. 

Gall,  being  unacquainted  with  the  special  faculties,  and 
not  being  able  to  find  out  organs  for  the  powers  which  phi- 
losophers consider  as  such,  observed  man  in  action,  and 
named  the  organs  accordingly.  This  kind  of  denomination 
is  still  perceptible  in  his  last  publication.  Actions,  however, 
seldom  result  from  one  single  power,  and  often  proceed  from 
abuses  of  the  faculties ;  the  nomenclature,  therefore,  assumed 
and  modified  by  Gall,  was,  in  my  opinion,  always  very 
defective.  'No  organ  should  be  named  after  any  action,  and 
certainly  not  after  the  abuse  of  its  function.  The  names  of 
theft  and  murder,  given  to  two  organs,  allowed  fair  play  to 
the  opponents.    It  is  true,  that  individuals  who  steal  from 


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149 


infancy,  notwithstanding  the  most  careful  education  and  the 
severest  punishment,  have  one  portion  of  the  brain  particu- 
larly developed,  but  all  persons  in  whom  the  same  part  is 
large,  are  not  thieves  in  the  common  acceptation  of  the 
word.  It  is  the  same  with  the  organ,  formerly  called,  that 
of  murder ;  those  who  from  infancy  have  a  strong  propensity 
to  destroy  and  to  kill  have  a  part  of  the  brain  highly  de- 
veloped, but  all  those  who  have  that  organ  large,  do  not 
necessarily  murder.  Gluttony  and  drunkenness  depend  on 
some  organic  cause;  but  we  cannot  speak  of  special  organs 
of  those  disorders.  The  abuses  of  physical  love  depend  on 
a  certain  organization,  but  no  one  speaks  of  an  organ  of 
adultery.  Theft  and  murder  then  are  abuses  of  two  faculties, 
as  I  shall  explain  hereafter. 

Gall's  proceeding,  was  also  defective,  as  far  as  he  observed 
actions  only  which  accompanied  different  organs.  In  this 
way  he  could  determine  the  special  functions,  only  of  a  few 
organs,  in  other  words  he  specified  the  nature  of  very  few 
fundamental  powers.  Hence,  in  treating  of  the  special 
organs,  he  complains  that  he  does  not  know  their  sphere  of 
activity.  On  the  other  hand,  Gall  discovered  the  organs  only 
when  extremely  large,  while  the  others  around  them  were 
small.  This  mode  of  observing  was  necessary  at  the  com- 
mencement, it  was  the  way  to  arrive  at  more  philosophical 
considerations,  which  bring  Phrenology  in  harmony  with  all 
other  physical  and  moral  truths.  But  he  erred  in  adopting 
powers  for  individual  actions  and  characters,  and  naming 
them  accordingly;  and  he  erred  in  paying  greater  attention 
to  individual  elevations,  than  to  size  in  general.  In  this 
way  the  idea  of  humps,  became  accredited,  and  served  the 
opponents  to  ridicule  Phrenology. 

It  was  necessary  to  modify  that  manner  of  considering 
Phrenology ;  I  undertook  to  specify  the  nature  of  the  funda- 
mental manifestations  of  the  mind  and  to  name  the  powers 
independently  of  any  action,  or  application  ;  and  I  established 
a  new  division  of  the  mental  operations,  according  to  the 
nature  of  the  special  powers,  and  modes  of  action,  separating 


150 


PHRENOLOGY 


in  the  talents  and  characters  of  individuals,  that  which 
belongs  to  each  power  itself  from  what  depends  on  its 
combination  wdth  other  faculties. 

All  the  functions  of  man  which  take  place  with  conscious- 
ness, are  ascribed  to  the  mind,  and  constitute  animal  life. 
They  may  be  divided  into  two  orders,  a  division  admitted 
from  the  remotest  antiquity,  and  known  under  the  names 
Soul  and  Spirit;  moral  and  intellectual  faculties;  under- 
standing and  will;  heart  and  head.  I  shall  designate  them 
by  feelings  and  intellect,  or  by  affective  and  intellectual 
faculties. 

Both  orders  of  the  cerebral  functions  may  be  subdivided 
into  several  genera,  and  each  genus  into  several  species.  Some 
affective  powers  produce  only  desires,  inclinations  or  in- 
stincts ;  I  denominate  them  by  the  general  title  propensities. 
The  name  propensities,  then,  is  only  applied  to  indicate  inter- 
nal impulses  which  invite  to  certain  actions.  They  cor- 
respond with  the  instincts,  or  instinctive  powers  of  animals. 
There  are  other  affective  faculties  which  are  not  confined  to 
inclination  alone,  but  have  something  superadded  that  may 
be  styled  sentiment.  Self-esteem,  for  instance,  produces  a 
certain  propensity  to  act ;  but,  at  the  same  time,  feels  another 
emotion'  or  affection  which  is  not  merely  propensity.  All 
the  faculties  which  I  call  propensities  are  common  to  man  and 
animals,  but  those  of  which  I  now  speak,  and  which  I  shall 
name  sentiments,  are  partly  common  to  man  and  animals, 
and  partly  proper  to  man. 

The  second  order  of  mental  powers  is  destined  to  make 
us  acquainted  with  the  existence  of  the  external  world,  with 
the  qualities  of  the  bodies  that  surround  us,  and,  also,  with 
their  relations ;  I  call  them  intellectual.  They  may  be  sub- 
divided into  four  genera.  The  first  includes  the  functions 
of  the  external  senses  and  of  voluntary  motion;  the  second, 
those  faculties,  which  make  man  and  animals  acquainted  with 
external  objects,  and  their  physical  qualities;  and  the  third, 
the  functions  connected  with  the  knowledge  of  relation  be- 
tween objects  or  their  qualities;  these  three  genera,  I  name 
perceptive  faculties;  the  fourth  genus  comprises  the  faculties 


CRANIOLOGY 


151 


which  act  on  all  the  other  sensations  and  notions,  and  these  I 
style  reflective  faculties. 

Each  genus  of  faculties,  both  affective  and  intellectual, 
consists  of  several  species,  and  each  species  offers  several 
modifications,  or  varieties,  even  idiosyncrasies,  or  monstrosi- 
ties. The  essential,  however,  of  the  faculties  always  remains, 
and  is  even  unaltered  by  disease.  The  essential  nature  of  the 
faculties  is  that  which  must  be  determined,  and  the  result  of 
this  proceeding  is  a  new  philosophy  of  the  mind.  In  speak- 
ing of  positive  actions,  it  is  highly  necessary  to  indicate  the 
special  faculties  which  produce  them,  for  the  mutual  influ- 
ence of  the  special  powers,  is  so  great,  that  the  inactivity  of 
one  faculty  sometimes  becomes  a  cause  that  certain  others  act 
in  a  determinate  manner,  which  would  not  have  happened, 
had  all  been  duly  balanced  and  equally  active. 

In  explaining  Gall's  proceeding,  and  the  spirit  which 
conducted  him  in  his  observations,  I  stated  that  he  named 
the  organs  according  to  the  talents  and  characters  he  observed. 
There  are  mechanicians,  musicians,  mathematicians,  meta- 
physician's, poets,  &c. ;  some  persons,  also,  are  known  for  their 
cunning,  ambition,  pride,  quarrelsomeness,  benevolence,  or 
religious  feelings ;  and  it  is  certain  that  persons  highly 
endowed  with  such  talents,  and  guided  by  such  feelings,  have 
the  organs  which  Gall  speaks  of,  under  the  titles,  organs  of 
cunning,  religion,  pride,  ambition,  poetry,  music,  mechanics, 
mathematics,  &c.,  largely  developed.  But  in  considering  the 
fundamental  powers,  I  was  obliged  to  change  the  nomen- 
clature, though  I  admit  that  the  organs,  as  they  are  named  by 
Gall,  are  much  developed  in  persons,  distinguished  by 
peculiar  characters,  or  individual  talents.  In  my  opinion 
there  is  no  organ  of  cunning,  of  religibn,  of  poetry,  mathe- 
matics, mechanics,  &c.  I  consider  these  mental  operations, 
as  compound,  and  think  that  their  elements  must  be  de- 
termined. I  consequently  do  not  give  names  to  the  organs 
according  to  actions,  but  solely  according  to  the  nature  of 
faculties.  I  shall  elucidate  my  meaning  by  means  of  the 
external  senses.  There  is  a  power  of  seeing,  and  an  organ 
of  sight,  but  there  is  no  organ  of  seeing  red,  blue,  yellow,  or 


153 


PHRENOLOGY 


squares,  triangles,  or  other  colors,  or  forms.  We  speak  of  a 
sense  of  hearing,  and  not  of  a  sense  of  hearing  the  song  of 
birds,  the  music  of  man,  or  the  noise  of  a  cannon,  &c.  In 
the  same  way,  there  is  an  organ  of  the  propensity  to  conceal, 
but  none  of  hypocrisy;  an  organ  of  the  desire  of  applause, 
but  none  of  emulation,  or  glory;  a  sense  of  reverence,  but 
none  of  this  or  that  mode  of  worship,  and  so  on. 

This  distinction  between  the  faculty  itself  and  its  applica- 
tion, explains  how  the  same  organization,  in  different  indi- 
viduals, may  be  accompanied  by  good  or  bad  actions,  for  the 
essence  of  the  faculty  is  preserved,  and  its  application  alone 
differs,  and  is  good  or  bad.  The  feeling  of  reverence,  being 
directed  to  the  God  of  Christians,  to  saints,  angels,  or  to 
natural  objects,  or  being  satisfied  by  all  sorts  of  actions,  by 
singing  of  psalms,  by  fastings,  burning  candles,  or  by  charity 
and  peacefulness,  &c.,  is  always  one  and  the  same. 

The  nomenclature  of  Phrenology,  therefore,  is  to  be  estab- 
lished according  to  tlie  fundamental  powers  themselves,  and 
by  no  means  according  to  their  application.  I  am  aware 
that  neither  English  philologists,  nor  the  English  public,  like 
to  admit  new  words,  and  I  must  apologize  for  having  intro- 
duced several.  The  English  language  presents  very  few 
single  words,  which  express  my  conceptions  of  the  peculiar 
faculties  of  the  mind.  Hence,  I  had  to  choose  between  speak- 
ing by  circumlocution,  and  adopting  new  names.  ISTow,  I 
think  with  Locke,  that  we  have  still  the  same  rights  as  our 
predecessors,  and  I,  therefore,  proposed  new  single  names, 
formed  as  much  as  possible,  in  conformity  with  the  spirit  of 
the  language.  Having  established  different  propensities,  as 
peculiar  faculties  of  the  mind,  in  order  to  designate  propen- 
sity, I  have  taken  the  termination  ive,  which  shows  the 
quality  of  producing,  and  ness,  which  indicates  the  abstract 
state;  iveness  is  therefore  joined  to  different  roots;  the 
preference  being  always  given  to  English  words  generally 
admitted;  but  when  such  were  not  to  be  found,  to  Latin 
participles,  so  commonly  used  in  English  to  express  meanings 
similar  to  those  I  was  in  search  of,  as  destructiveness, 
productiveness,  &c. 


CRANIOLOGY 


153 


The  termination  ous,  indicates  a  sentiment,  as  anxious, 
cautious,  pious,  conscientious,  &;c.  and  I  should  have  been 
very  glad  to  have  found  similar  adjectives  for  every  primitive 
sentiment  of  the  mind;  when  they  occurred,  I  have  added 
iiess,  in  order  to  express  the  abstract  state,  as  cautiousness, 
conscientiousness,  marvellousness,  &c. 

The  names  of  the  intellectual  faculties  are  easily  under- 
stood, and  do  not  require  particular  explanation. 

If  under  any  head  of  the  nomenclature,  there  be  a  better 
name  than  I  employ,  or  one  which  indicates  more  exactly 
any  determinate  faculty,  but  no  determinate  action  or  effect 
of  the  faculty,  I  shall  be  glad  to  use  it;  for  I  am  always 
disposed  to  acknowledge  truth,  and  obey  real  improvement. 

I  cannot  insist  too  much  on  the  importance  of  not  con- 
founding the  fundamental  powers  with  their  applications; 
and  of  not  confounding  protuberances  with  general  develope- 
ment.  Gall  was  particularly  attached  to  the  idea  of  pro- 
tuberances, viz.,  to  the  principal  means  of  making  the  first 
phrenological  discoveries.  All  his  writings,  and  particularly 
the  three  last  plates  of  the  large  work  confirm  me  in  this 
opinion.  It  would  be  difficult  to  look  at  these  plates  without 
thinking  of  protuberances.  The  reader  naturally  asks,  what 
is  in  the  intervals  between  the  elevations  ?  Such  elevations, 
however,  occur  but  rarely,  and  the  habit  of  looking  for 
isolated  organs  thus  acquired  by  beginners,  has,  undoubtedly, 
retarded  the  progress  of  Phrenology.  Adversaries  also  sup- 
port their  objections  by  supposed  exceptions ;  for  they  imagine 
that  an  organ  is  large  only  when  it  presents  a  protuberance. 
This,  however,  is  not  the  case,  and  it  is  better  to  consider  the 
size  of  the  head  in  general,  to  divide  it  into  various  regions, 
and  to  observe  which  and  what  parts  of  each,  are  most 
developed.  The  medulla  oblongata,  or  the  occipital  hole,  or 
the  external  opening  of  the  ear,  will  serve  as  a  central  point 
from  whence  various  radii  may  be  drawn  toward  the  surface 
in  all  directions.  I  farther  divide  the  head  into  two  regions 
in  its  height,  by  drawing  a  horizontal  line,  which  begins  in 
the  middle  of  the  forehead,  and  ends  above  the  occipital 
bone.    The  region  below  this,  I  call  basilar,  and  that  above 


154 


PHRENOLOGY 


it  sincipital.  In  its  length  from  forehead  to  occiput,  I 
divide  the  head  into  tliree  regions.  From  the  mastoid  pro- 
cess behind  the  ear,  backwards,  is  the  sincipital  region,  from 
the  mastoid  process  to  the  temples,  or  constructiveness,  is  the 
middle,  and  from  constructiveness  forwards,  the  frontal 
region.  The  occipital  region  corresponds  with  the  posterior 
lobes;  the  middle  regions  with  the  middle  lobes,  and  the 
frontal  with  the  anterior  lobes  of  the  brain.  Heads,  again, 
are  narrow  or  wide  laterally,  and  the  lateral  regions  are 
therefore  to  be  examined  in  relation  to  the  height  of  the  head. 
These  various  regions  are  different  even  when  the  whole 
surface  is  smooth,  which  may  happen  in  heads  of  all  sizes. 

The  analysis  of  the  greater  number  of  the  fundamental 
powers  of  the  mind,  their  divisions  into  orders,  genera,  and 
species,  the  new  nomenclature,  according  to  the  nature  of  the 
special  powers,  and  the  division  of  the  head  into  regions, 
is  my  work. 


CHAPTER  II. 

Order  in  which  the  Organs  may  he  treated. 

From  the  preceding  section  it  results  that  a  certain  order 
may  be  established  amongst  the  organs  of  the  mind.  Gall 
never  adopted  any  philosophical  principle  in  his  arrange- 
ments of  the  organs.  He  frequently  changed  the  order  in 
which  he  considered  them,  being,  however,  always  guided  by 
their  localities.  In  his  latest  publication  he  begins  at  the 
basis  and  ends  at  the  top  of  the  head,  l^ot  allowing  any 
essential  difference  in  the  modes  of  action  of  the  primary 
powers,  he  deems  it  sufficient  to  take  the  mere  situation  of 
the  organs  to  regulate  the  order  of  his  descriptions. 

I,  on  the  contrary,  admitting  different  modes  of  action  in 
the  special  faculties  of  the  mind,  conceive  the  possibility  to 
classify  them  according  to  the  nature  of  the  mental  opera- 
tions. I  first  speak  of  the  organs  of  the  affective  powers  or 
feelings,  and  then  of  those  of  the  intellectual  faculties,  viz. 
in  the  same  order  as  I  divide  and  subdivide  the  fundamental 


DIVISION  OF  THE  MENTAL  POWERS 


155 


functions  of  the  mind.  In  the  two  editions  of  '  the  Physi- 
ognomical System/  in  1815,  I  followed  this  principle  in 
arranging  the  organs,  and  adopted  a  certain  order,  which  was 
allowed  by  the  phrenologists  in  Edinburgh.  I  changed  that 
order  in  my  successive  French  and  English  publications. 
Mr.  Daville  adopted  for  his  marked  bust  that  in  my  work 
'  Phrenology '  of  1825.  Mr.  Combe  does  the  same  in  his 
last  edition  of  Phrenology.  It  is  impossible  to  arrive  at  a 
correct  classification,  until  all  the  organs  and  all  the  special 
faculties  of  the  mind  are  ascertained ;  and  then  new  modifica- 
tions may  appear  preferable  to  those  who  teach  Phrenology. 
Let  it  therefore  be  understood,  that,  though  marked  busts  or 
plates  may  be  numbered  differently,  the  plates  of  the  re- 
spective organs,  once  considered  as  established,  have  never 
been  altered ;  the  place  of  secretiveness,  for  instance,  has  been 
invariably  the  same,  whether  it  be  marked  and  referred  to  as 
the  7th  or  9th  organ  of  the  brain.  I  now  treat  of  the  organ 
of  secretiveness,  before  acquisitiveness  and  constructiveness, 
since  it  belongs  to  the  middle  lobes  of  the  brain,  whilst  the 
organs  of  acquisitiveness  and  constructiveness  lie  above  the 
Fissura  Sylvii.  Hence,  anatomy  indicated  this  rectification, 
and  reasoning  is  not  against  the  change,  because  secretiveness 
assists  the  preceding  propensities  as  well  as  those  which 
follow. 

Thus,  the  numbers  of  the  marked  busts  or  plates  indicated 
merely  the  order  in  which  the  organs  are  treated  or  described 
by  phrenologists.  This  order  has  been  changed  at  different 
periods  by  Gall,  as  well  as  myself,  and  different  arrangements 
may  be  proposed  by  other  phrenologists.  It  is  immaterial 
in  Phrenology  whether  a  teacher  speaks  of  combativeness  in 
the  5th  or  7 th  place,  and  so  with  respect  to  every  other  organ. 
It  is  therefore  wrong  in  my  opinion  to  commit  to  memory 
the  numbers  of  the  organs,  and  to  go  so  far  as  to  take 
phrenological  notes  in  numbers,  or  to  use  them  in  conversa- 
tion and  private  correspondence,  instead  of  the  names,  as 
without  abandoning  the  number  in  descriptions,  confusion 
and  perplexity  will  be  unavoidable. 


156 


PHRENOLOGY 


Before  I  enter  into  details  upon  the  organs  of  the  mind, 
I  shall  answer  a  question  which  may  be  put  in  regard  to 
every  organ,  viz. :  Why  do  you  admit  a  particular  organ  of 
this,  and  not  of  another  function?  When  actions  alone  are 
spoken  of,  it  is  certainly  difficult  to  conceive  the  necessity  of 
particular  organs;  yet  the  answer  is  decisive  when  we  can 
say:  experience  demonstrates  it.  Moreover  as  I  look  for 
fundamental  powers  and  not  merely  for  their  organs,  the 
necessity  of  every  one  may  be  proved  even  by  reasoning,  that 
is,  by  the  general  proofs  which  confirm  the  plurality  of  the 
powers  and  organs.  In  considering  these  proofs,  in  relation 
to  every  faculty,  we  may  be  sure  in  our  proceeding.  Every 
faculty  is  fundamental,  and  a  particular  organ  must  be 
pointed  out  for  it: 

1.  Which  exists  in  one  kind  of  animal  and  not  in  another ; 

2.  Which  varies  in  tlie  sexes  of  the  same  species ; 

3.  Which  is  not  proportionate  to  the  other  faculties  of 
the  same  individual; 

4.  Which  does  not  manifest  itself  simultaneously  with 
the  other  faculties,  that  is,  which  appears  or  disappears 
earlier  or  later  than  they; 

5.  Which  may  act  or  repose  singly; 

6.  Which  individually  is  propagated  in  a  distinct  manner 
from  parents  to  children;  and 

7.  Which  singly  may  preserve  its  proper  state  of  health, 
or  be  affected  by  disease. 

Gall  did  not  determine  any  of  the  organs  in  conformity 
with  these  views.  He  followed  an  empirical  method  only, 
looking  for  organs  according  to  the  actions  of  man.  But  I 
have  no  hesitation  to  maintain  that  in  pointing  out  the  special 
or  fundamental  powers  of  the  mind,  my  proceeding  is  phi- 
losophical, founded  on  principles,  and  adequate  to  refute  the 
following  objections  made  against  the  object  of  our 
investigations. 

Some  adversaries  say  that  too  many,  others  that  too  few, 
organs  are  acknowledged,  and  that  they  might  be  multiplied 
infinitely.  The  former  should  know,  however,  that  each 
is  admitted  by  the  same  proofs  which  demonstrate  their 


DIVISION  OF  THE  MENTAL  POWERS 


167 


plurality  generally,  and  that  it  is  verified  by  experience. 
The  independent  existence  of  one  organ  is  neither  more  nor 
less  certain  than  that  of  any  other;  and  if  similar  proofs  be 
admitted  confirmatory  of  one,  they  must  be  agreed  to  in 
regard  to  every  other.  On  the  other  hand  the  opponents 
who  think  that  enough  organs  are  not  admitted,  should  con- 
sider, that  every  faculty  may  be  applied  to  an  infinite  number 
of  objects.  Seeing  is  always  seeing,  but  to  what  an  infinity 
of  objects  may  the  power  be  directed!  Hearing  is  always 
hearing,  but  how  various  the  impressions  perceived  by  this 
sense !  It  is  the  same  with  the  internal  faculties.  Con- 
structing is  always  constructing,  but  how  infinite  in  number 
and  variety  the  objects  that  may  be  produced!  Moreover, 
it  is  to  be  observed,  that  a  great  number  of  actions  result  from 
combinations  of  different  powers;  and,  therefore,  it  is  not 
surprising  to  see  so  many  effects  produced  by  a  small  number 
of  primitive  faculties.  Are  not  twenty-four  letters  of  the 
alphabet  sufiicient  to  compose  all  imaginable  words  ?  The 
muscles  of  the  face  are  not  very  numerous,  yet  almost  every 
individual  of  the  human  kind  has  a  different  physiognomy. 
There  are  few  primitive  sounds;  few  primitive  colors;  only 
ten  primitive  signs  of  numbers;  but  what  an  infinity  of 
combinations  do  not  each  of  these  furnish  ?  Let  us  suppose 
from  thirty  to  forty  primitive  faculties  of  the  mind,  and 
then  consider  all  possible  combinations,  with  their  modifica- 
tions; and  we  shall  not  feel  surprised  that  we  observe  such 
a  number  of  modified  functions.  I  repeat  that  the  organs 
are  not  multiplied  unnecessarily,  but  that  determinate  prin- 
ciples are  followed  in  establishing  each  of  them,  such  only 
as  nature  presents  being  recognised. 

Some  opponents  have  a  peculiar  turn  of  mind.  They  rely 
on  their  saying  that  Phrenology  is  not  complete,  as  if  this 
imperfect  state  could  refute  that  which  is  discovered  and 
confirmed.  The  physical  analysis  of  matter  is  not  yet  com- 
plete; shall  therefore  all  discoveries  of  modem  chemists  be 
denied :  such  a  conclusion  would  be  evidently  erroneous.  In 
the  same  way  this  incomplete  state  of  Phrenology  does  not 
refute  that  which  is  certain  in  it 


158 


PHRENOLOGY 


Some  metaphysical  speculators  imagine  that  several 
powers,  which  in  Phrenology  are  considered  as  special,  might 
be  ranged  as  constituents  of  other  powers;  for  instance,  that 
combativeness  and  destructiveness  might  be  reduced  to  one 
and  the  same  power;  in  the  same  way  secretiveness  and 
cautiousness ;  self-esteem  and  love  of  approbation. 

We  prove  our  assertions  by  reasoning  and  facts,  nor  shall 
our  constant  observations  deserve  less  confidence  than  mere 
a  priori  reasoning,  particularly  since  we  find  in  practical 
life  that  nature  is  not  so  simple  in  her  means  as  many  meta- 
physicians fancy.  Why  different  nerves  for  different  sensa- 
tions, and  again  others  for  voluntary  motion  ?  why  so  many 
different  glands  for  the  individual  secretions,  &c. 

Other  metaphysicians  indulge  in  their  fancy,  and  speak 
of  discrepancies  of  Phrenology,  supposing  that  there  are 
special  faculties  of  the  mind,  for  which  they  find  no  organs 
in  the  map  of  the  phrenological  bust. 

Let  me  admit,  for  the  sake  of  argument,  such  powers  to 
exist,  why  do  those  who  find  them  necessary  not  look  for  the 
respective  organs  ?  why  should  we  do  all  ?  or  shall  the  organs 
which  we  have  discovered,  not  be  true,  because  we  do  not 
know  those  organs  which  some  metaphysicians  suppose  to 
exist.  Some,  for  instance,  think  it  necessary  to  admit  an 
organ  of  the  love  of  parents,  since  there  is  one  for  the  love  of 
children.  Let  those  who  want  an  organ  of  the  love  of  parents, 
find  it  out  and  prove  it,  as  we  do  in  regard  to  the  organ  of 
philoprogenitiveness ;  or  shall  the  organ  of  philoprogenitive- 
ness  not  exist  because  that  of  the  love  of  parents  is  unknown  ? 
I  for  my  part,  do  not  think  it  necessary  to  look  for  an  organ 
of  that  kind,  since  I  do  not  think  that  the  love  of  parents  is 
a  special  faculty.  iN'ature  has  distributed  powers  for  neces- 
sary phenomena.  The  preservation  of  the  species  depends 
on  the  care  which  parents  take  of  their  offspring,  and  it  is 
obtained  by  a  special  power.  Parents  are  supposed  to  be 
independent  of  their  children,  and  if  in  old  age  they  should 
want  their  assistance,  other  feelings,  as  attachment,  conscious- 
ness, reverence  and  benevolence  are  sufficient  to  explain 
gratitude  and  any  other  help  they  give  to  their  parents. 


DIVISION  OF  THE  MENTAL  POWERS 


159 


Others  want  an  organ  of  self-love.  I  might  reply,  look  for 
it,  and  prove  it !  I  see  no  necessity  for  doing  so.  Self-love 
seems  to  me  attached  to  the  whole  of  Self,  and  an  attribute  of 
every  faculty  which  when  active  wishes  to  be  satisfied. 

Many  consider  it  as  a  discrepancy  of  Phrenology  that  I 
admit  an  organ  of  coloring,  and  another  of  tune,  and  none 
of  taste,  and  none  of  smell.  There  is,  however,  a  great 
difference  between  these  mental  phenomena.  In  treating  of 
the  external  senses,  I  shall  speak  of  their  immediate  and 
mediate  functions.  The  immediate  functions  are  indepen- 
dent of  cerebral  organs,  only  as  far  as  they  are  referred  to 
special  objects  they  are  the  result  of  internal  mental  opera- 
tions. The  sense  of  smell,  perceives  odors ;  that  of  taste, 
savors;  that  of  hearing,  sounds;  and  that  of  sight,  different 
shades  of  light.  When  these  different  perceptions  or  sensa- 
tions are  referred  to  external  objects,  individuality  and 
eventuality  are  active.  This  is  common  to  all  the  external 
senses;  but  the  mind  operates  on  sounds  and  the  shades 
and  modified  impressions  of  light  in  a  peculiar  man- 
ner, in  which  it  does  not  operate  on  odors  and  savors.  It 
transforms  sounds  into  tones,  melody  and  harmony,  and  the 
impressions  of  light  into  coloring,  and  for  these  peculiar 
operations  of  the  mind,  there  are  special  organs  in  the  brain. 

I  shall  now  begin  to  treat  of  the  special  faculties,  which 
I  admit  in  Phrenology,  and  in  the  order  which  seems  to  me 
in  the  meantime  as  the  most  philosophical.  An  invariable 
order  cannot  be  adopted  till  Phrenology  is  complete.  In 
discussing  the  fundamental  powers  of  the  mind,  I  shall 
always  follow  the  same  procedure :  I  shall  first  consider  the 
individual  actions  which  lead  us  to  think  of  a  special  faculty ; 
then  give  the  history  of  the  discovery  of  the  organ ;  I  shall 
add  my  remarks  where  Gall,  myself,  or  other  phrenologists 
happen  to  differ  in  opinion ;  and  afterwards  describe  the  seat 
of  each  organ,  and  name  it  according  to  its  essential  nature ; 
finally  I  shall  examine  its  influence  on  the  other  faculties  and 
the  effects  of  its  inactivity.  It  is  my  intention  rather  to  make 
known  the  philosophical  spirit  of  these  inquiries,  and  the 
manner  in  which  I  conceive  they  ought  to  be  conducted, 


160 


PHRENOLOGY 


confirmed  or  amended,  than  to  quote  the  numerous  facts 
observed  in  support  of  our  opinions.  Gall  was  fond  of  quot- 
ing individual  facts;  these,  however,  be  they  ever  so 
numerous,  can  never  produce  conviction.  I  have  neither  the 
wish  nor  the  intention  to  persuade,  but  invite  every  one  to 
convince  himself  by  personal  examination,  since  there  can 
be  no  self -conviction  without  self -observation.  I  think,  how- 
ever, that  by  our  unabated  inquiries  during  so  many  years, 
we  have  acquired  the  right  to  demand  that  no  conclusion  be 
formed  until  our  observations  have  been  repeated.  Is  it  not 
painful  then  to  see  that  this  is  not  done  in  Phrenology  as  it 
is  in  all  other  new  discoveries?  I  cannot  but  regret  that 
physiologists  and  philosophers  do  not  examine  with  sufficient 
zeal  and  care  the  doctrine  of  Phrenology,  which  undoubtedly 
one  day  will  become  the  basis  of  all  philosophical,  moral  and 
political  sciences. 


SECTION  VIII. 
ORDER  I. — Feelings,  oe  Affective  Faculties. 

The  affective  faculties  have  their  origin  from  within, 
and  are  not  acquired  by  any  external  circumstances.  They 
cannot  be  taught  and  must  be  felt  to  be  understood ;  in  them- 
selves they  are  blind  and  act  without  understanding;  finally 
they  are  partly  common  to  man  and  animals,  partly  proper 
to  man. 

Genus  I. — Propensities. 

There  are  several  species  of  propensities ;  each  species  has 
a  particular  nature,  and  they  all  exist  in  animals  and  man. 

Organ  of  the  Desire  to  Live. 

It  is  highly  probable  that  there  is  a  peculiar  instinct  to 
live,  or  love  of  life,  and  I  look  for  its  organ  at  the  basis  of 
the  brain,  between  the  posterior  and  middle  lobes,  inwardly 
of  combativeness. 


ALIMENTIVENESS 


161 


Organ  of  the  Fropensity  to  Feed. 
Alimentiveness. 

The  common  opinion  of  physiologists  is,  that  hunger,  or  the 
desire  to  take  food,  depends  on  the  nerves  of  the  stomach 
alone.  Gall  and  myself,  placing  all  other  instincts  into  the 
brain,  thought  it  probable  that  the  instinct  to  feed,  depends 
on  a  cerebral  portion,  though  we  did  not  know  its  situation 
in  the  head. 

Mr.  Crook,  lecturer  on  Mnemonics,  seems  to  have  been  the 
first  who  observed  the  developement  of  a  peculiar  part  of  the 
brain,  in  relation  to  the  instinct  in  question,  though  the  view 
he  took  is  probably  too  limited.  He  observed  several  indi- 
viduals who  were  exceedingly  fond  of  good  living,  and  he 
found  their  heads  anterior  to  the  organ  of  destructiveness 
very  large.  He  thought  that  this  organ  produces  a  fine 
exquisite  taste,  and  called  it  the  organ  of  gustativeness. 

Dr.  Hoppe,  of  Copenhagen,  as  stated  in  two  communica- 
tions published  in  the  Phrenological  Journal,  ITo.  V.  and 
VII.,  looked  for  an  organ  of  the  appetite  for  food,  at  the 
same  spot  of  the  head  where  Mr.  Crook  admits  the  organ 
of  gustativeness,  viz.  before  that  of  destructiveness :  ^  we 
observe,'  says  he,  '  that  the  chicken  is  no  sooner  out  of  the 
egg,  than  it  picks  the  grain  that  lies  on  the  ground,  and  the 
new-bom  babe  sucks  the  nipple.  Is  this  to  be  explained 
without  the  supposition  of  an  organ  analogous  to  that  which 
makes  the  duckling  immediately  plunge  into  the  water. 
!N^either  am  I  able  otherwise  to  conceive  how  the  new-born 
animal  can  discriminate  what  is  useful  for  its  nutrition ;  that, 
for  instance,  the  chicken,  never  mistakes  gravel  for  grain, 
and  that  the  wild  beasts  always  avoid  poisonous  plants 
without  ever  tasting  them.' 

I  agree  with  the  idea  that  the  propensity  or  instinct  to 
feed,  is  fundamental,  and  attached  to  a  portion  of  the  brain 
situated  before  the  organ  of  destructiveness,  and  under  that 
of  acquisitiveness,  embracing  the  anterior  circonvolutions  of 
the  middle  lobes  in  man,  and  the  corresponding  cerebral  parts 
in  animals.  But  I  neither  think  with  Dr.  Hoppe,  that  this 
11 


162 


PHRENOLOGY 


propensity  discriminates  what  is  useful  for  nutrition,  nor 
with  Mr.  Crook,  that  it  produces  the  delicacy  and  nicety 
of  taste;  I  confine  this  power  to  the  mere  desire  to  feed,  in 
the  same  way  as  the  cerebellum  to  physical  love,  or  amative- 
ness,  considering  these  two  like  all  other  propensities,  as 
blind  and  deprived  of  intellect.  In  this  way  the  comparison 
between  nutrition  and  propagation  is  complete,  each  class  of 
these  functions,  comprising  three  sorts  of  nervous  activity, 
partly  vegetative,  partly  instinctive,  and  partly  sensitive. 

ISlow  all  concurs  to  prove  that  the  above  mentioned  portion 
of  the  brain,  is  the  organ  of  the  instinctive  part  of  nutrition, 
or  of  the  desire  to  feed.  It  exists  not  only  in  carnivorous, 
but  also  in  herbivorous  animals.  The  goose,  turkey,  ostrich, 
kangaroo,  beaver,  horse,  &c.  &c.  have  a  middle  lobe  as  well 
as  the  duck,  eagle,  pelican,  tiger,  lion,  dog,  &c.  The  desire 
to  feed,  is  common  to  all  animals,  and  the  carnivorous  ani- 
mals want  the  organ  of  destructiveness  in  addition  to  that  of 
the  instinct  to  feed. 

The  functions  of  the  anterior  circonvolutions  of  the  middle 
lobes  in  man,  were  unknown  before  the  observations  of  Mr. 
Crook  and  Dr.  Hoppe.  It  is,  however,  remarkable  that  they 
are  developed  from  the  earliest  age,  sooner  than  many  other 
parts,  and  proportionably  larger  in  children  and  young,  than 
in  adult  persons  and  animals.  This  instinct  acts  in  con- 
formity, from  the  first  appearance  of  young  beings  in  this 
world,  and  is  generally  the  most  active  in  early  life.  In 
treating  of  destructiveness,  I  shall  mention  the  reasons  which 
induce  me  to  think  that  it  does  not  determine  the  food  of 
carnivorous  animals,  or  the  taste  for  animal  food,  this  being 
the  result  of  the  sense  of  taste,  or  of  the  gustatory  nerve. 
This  latter  sense  too,  in  my  opinion,  explains  that  which 
Mr.  Crook  calls  gustativeness,  and  ascribes  to  the  organ  in 
question,  that  which  I  confine  to  the  instinct  to  feed. 

This  propensity  is  particularly  assisted  by  the  smell,  and 
the  olfactory  nerve  is  in  all  animals  in  the  most  intimate 
communication  with  the  middle  lobes,  so  much  so,  that  in  the 
ox,  sheep,  horse,  dog,  fox,  hare,  rabbit,  &c.  the  internal  part 


ORGAN  OF  DESTRUCTIVENESS 


163 


of  the  middle  lobes,  seems  to  be  almost  a  mere  continuation 
of  the  olfactory  nerve.    In  man  also,  the  external  and ' 
greater  root  of  the  olfactory  nerve,  is  in  connexion  with  the 
anterior  convolutions  of  the  middle  lobes. 

Farther,  the  middle  lobes  are  in  particular  communication 
with  the  nervous  bundles,  which  constitute  the  anterior  lobes, 
and  the  anterior  external  portion  of  the  crura,  in  other  words, 
the  organs  of  the  intellectual  faculties ;  and  the  propensity  to 
feed  puts  into  action  many  of  the  perceptive  powers,  and  the 
voluntary  motion  of  many  parts,  before  the  food  is  trans- 
mitted to  the  stomach  for  digestion. 

This  organ,  though  indicated  by  reason  and  comparative 
anatomy,  is  merely  probable,  and  can  be  confirmed  or  rejected 
like  every  other,  according  to  direct  observations  alone,  in 
comparing  cerebral  developement,  in  relation  to  the  special 
propensity.    I  possess  many  facts  in  confirmation. 

I.   Organ  of  the  Propensity  to  Destroy,  or  of  Destructiveness. 

A  difference  in  the  skulls  of  carnivorous  and  herbivorous 
animals,  gave  the  first  idea  of  the  existence  of  an  organ  of 
destructiveness.  If  we  place  the  skull  of  a  carnivorous 
animal  horizontally,  and  trace  a  vertical  line  through  the 
external  meatus  auditorius,  a  good  portion  of  the  cerebral 
mass  will  be  found  situated  behind  it,  whilst  in  herbivorous 
animals,  the  corresponding  portion  of  the  brain  will  be 
observed  to  be  very  small. 

Every  one  agrees  that  there  are  carnivorous  animals,  but 
all  have  not  the  same  opinion  regarding  the  cause  of  this. 
Some  say  it  is  useless  to  search  in  the  brain  for  a  particular 
organ  of  destruction,  which  determines  the  kind  of  food 
nature  destined  for  man  and  animals,  because  she  has  given 
to  carnivorous  animals  the  feeling  of  hunger,  the  taste,  teeth, 
and  such  instruments  as  are  necessary  for  seizing  and  killing 
their  prey.  These  instruments,  however,  prove  only  the 
harmony  that  subsists  between  the  internal  faculties  and  the 
corporeal  structure.  Man  employs  his  hands  in  taking 
aliments,  but  some  interior  sensation  advertises  him  of  the 
necessity  of  taking  food.    The  tiger,  lion,  cat,  &c.  have  teeth 


164 


PHRENOLOGY 


and  claws,  but  an  internal  power  excites  these  animals  to 
use  them.  A  sheep  could  not  employ  such  instruments,  any 
more  than  does  an  idiot  his  hands  to  perform  offices  for  which 
they  are  adapted. 

The  propensity  to  kill,  exists  beyond  doubt  in  the  world, 
and  it  is  more  or  less  energetic  in  animals  of  different  species, 
and  even  in  individuals  of  the  same  kind.  There  are  some 
species  which  kill  no  more  than  they  require  for  their  nourish- 
ment, while  others,  as  the  wolf,  tiger,  polecat,  &c.  kill  all 
living  beings  around  them,  seemingly  for  the  mere  pleasure 
of  destroying. 

It  is  readily  granted  that  many  animals  have  the  propensity 
to  kill.  But  let  us  see  whether  man  is  also  endowed  with  a 
like  disposition.  Carnivorous  animals  confine  themselves 
to  the  destruction  of  a  certain  number  of  species  for  food; 
but  man  kills,  from  the  insect  to  the  elephant  and  whale,  to 
apply  them  to  his  purposes ;  he  almost  alone  is  truly  omniv- 
orous, and  he  sheds  the  blood  even  of  his  fellow-creatures. 
I  find  it  superfluous  to  combat  those  who  say  that  man  eats 
flesh  only  from  depravity  or  vicious  habit;  because  his  teeth 
evidently  partake  of  the  structure  of  those  of  both  carnivorous 
and  herbivorous  animals;  his  stomach  rather  resembles  that 
of  carnivorous,  than  of  frugivorous  tribes;  and  finally, 
because  he  thrives  upon  flesh,  and,  in  some  regions,  it 
constitutes  all  his  subsistence. 

In  man  this  feeling  presents  different  degrees  of  activity, 
from  mere  indifference  to  the  pain  of  animals,  to  the  pleasure 
of  seeing  them  killed,  or  even  to  the  most  irresistible  desire 
of  killing.  This  doctrine  may  shock  sensibility,  but  it  is  not 
the  less  true,  and  whoever  would  study  nature,  and  judge 
sanely  of  its  phenomena,  must  be  ready  to  admit  the  existence 
of  things  as  they  are.  It  may  be  observed  that  among  chil- 
dren, as  well  as  adults,  among  the  uncultivated  as  well  as  the 
polite  and  well-bred  classes  of  society,  certain  individuals 
are  very  sensible,  and  others  very  indifferent  to  the  sufferings 
of  other  beings.  Some  persons  feel  a  pleasure  in  tormenting 
animals,  and  in  seeing  them  tortured  or  killed,  even  when  it 
is  impossible  to  ascribe  this  disposition  to  bad  habit,  or  neg- 


ORGAN  OF  DESTRUCTIVENESS 


165 


lected  education.  There  are  even  individuals  who  choose 
such  a  profession  as  will  gratify  this  propensity,  if  it  be  very 
energetic.  Thus  a  journeyman  apothecary  at  Vienna  became 
an  executioner;  the  son  of  a  rich  merchant  of  the  same  city, 
renounced  commerce  and  became  a  butcher;  and  a  rich 
Dutchman -paid  the  butchers,  who  furnished  the  navy  with 
beef,  for  permission  to  kill  the  oxen. 

We  may  also  determine  the  existence  of  this  propensity 
and  its  diversities,  by  the  impressions  made  upon  different 
spectators  by  public  executions;  these  are  insupportable  to 
some,  and  afford  great  delight  to  others.  George  Selwin 
sought  eagerly  for  such  spectacles,  and  always  endeavored  to 
stand  near  the  executioner.  It  is  also  reported  of  La  Con- 
damine  that,  being  fond  of  executions,  and  endeavoring  to 
pass  through  the  crowd  upon  a  certain  occasion,  -as  the  soldiers 
pushed  him  back,  the  executioner  said  to  them,  ^  Let  that 
gentleman  pass,  he  is  an  amateur.'  Professor  Bruggmans, 
of  Leyden,  told  us  of  a  Dutch  priest,  whose  desire  to  kill, 
and  to  see  killed,  was  so  great,  that  he  became  chaplain  of  a 
regiment,  solely  to  have  an  opportunity  of  seeing  men  de- 
stroyed in  battle.  To  gratify  the  same  propensity  still 
farther,  he  kept  in  his  house  a  number  of  domestic  animals, 
as  dogs,  cats,  &c.  to  have  the  pleasure  of  killing  their  young 
with  his  own  hand.  He  also  slaughtered  the  animals  for 
his  kitchen,  and  was  acquainted  with  all  the  hangmen  of  the 
country,  who  sent  him  regular  notice  of  each  execution,  and 
he  did  not  grudge  to  travel  on  foot  for  several  days,  to  witness 
the  scene.  In  the  field  of  battle  the  propensity  to  destroy  is 
active  in  very  different  degrees :  one  soldier  is  overjoyed  at 
sight  of  the  blood  which  he  sheds,  while  another,  moved  by 
compassion,  spares  the  vanquished,  and  stops  of  his  own 
accord,  whenever  victory  is  secure. 

Highwa;)T:nen  are  frequently  not  contented  with  robbing, 
but  manifest  the  most  sanguinary  inclination  to  torment  and 
murder,  without  necessity.  John  Kosbeck  not  only  mal- 
treated his  victims,  to  make  them  show  their  concealed 
treasures,  but  invented  and  employed  the  most  outrageous 
cruelties,  merely  to  witness  their  sufferings ;  neither  fear  nor 


166 


PHRENOLOGY 


torture  could  break  him  of  this  horrible  habit ;  after  his  first 
apprehension,  he  was  confined  for  eighteen  months  in  a  small 
subterraneous  dungeon,  his  feet  loaded  with  chains,  standings 
in  muddy  water  up  to  his  ankles ;  in  addition  to  all  this,  he 
was  tortured  most  cruelly ;  nevertheless,  he  confessed  nothing. 
On  being  enlarged,  his  first  act  was  to  steal  in  full  daylight, 
and  having  committed  new  murders,  he  was  finally  executed.* 
At  the  beginning  of  the  last  century,  several  murders  were 
committed  in  Holland,  on  the  frontiers  of  the  province  of 
Cleves.  For  a  long  time  the  murderer  escaped  detection, 
but  at  last  suspicion  fell  on  an  old  man,  who  gained  his  liveli- 
hood by  playing  on  the  violin  at  country  weddings,  in  conse- 
quence of  some  expressions  of  his  children ;  led  before  the 
justice,  he  confessed  thirty-four  murders,  and  said  that  he 
had  committed  them  without  any  cause  of  enmity,  and  with- 
out any  intention  of  robbing,  but  only  because  he  was 
extremely  delighted  with  bloodshed.  At  Strasburg  two 
keepers  of  the  cathedral  having  been  assassinated,  all  efforts 
to  discover  the  murderer  for  a  long  time  were  ineffectual ;  at 
last  a  postilion  w^as  shot  by  a  clergyman,  called  Frick.  This 
monster  had  hired  a  post-chaise  for  the  express  purpose  of 
satisfying  his  horrible  propensity  to  destroy.  Arrested,  he 
confessed  himself  the  murderer  of  both  keepers  of  the  cathe- 
dral. This  wretch  was  rich,  and  had  never  stolen.  For  his 
crimes  he  was  condemned  to  be  burned  at  Strasburg.  '  Louis 
XV.'  says  M.  de  Lacretelle,t  ^  felt  a  rooted  aversion  against 
a  brother  of  the  Duke  Bourbon-Conde,  Count  of  Charolois, 
who  would  have  renewed  all  the  crimes  of  I^ero,  had  he  ever 
mounted  a  throne.  While  a  child  he  betrayed  a  cruelty  of 
disposition,  which  excited  horror.  He  delighted  in  shedding 
the  blood  of  those  he  had  debauched,  and  in  exercising  various 
barbarities  on  the  courtezans  who  were  brought  to  him. 
Popular  tradition,  as  well  as  history,  accuses  him  of  different 
homicides,  and  it  is  added  that  these  were  committed  without 
cause,  and  when  unmoved  by  anger;  for  he  shot  at  slaters. 


*  History  of  Schinderhannes,  t.  ii.  p.  8. 
f  Histoire  de  la  France,  t.  ii.  p.  59. 


ORGAN  OF  DESTRUCTIVENESS 


167 


merely  to  have  the  barbarous  pleasure  of  seeing  them  fall 
from  the  tops  of  the  houses.' 

These  latter  facts,  which  fortunately  for  humanity  are 
very  rare,  prove  that  this  terrible  propensity  is  sometimes 
quite  independent  of  education,  of  example,  or  of  habit,  and 
that  it  depends  on  innate  constitution  alone.  Many  crimes 
indeed  are  so  detestable,  and  are  accompanied  with  such 
repugnant  and  horrible  circumstances,  that  it  would  be  im- 
possible to  explain  them  in  any  other  way.  Prochasca 
relates,*  that  a  woman  of  Milan  caressed  little  children,  led 
them  home,  killed  them,  salted  their  flesh,  and  ate  of  it  every 
day.  He  quotes  also  the  case  of  a  person  whom  this  passion 
excited,  and  who  killed  a  traveller  and  a  young  girl  to  eat 
them.  Gaubius  f  speaks  of  a  girl  whose  father  was  incited 
by  a  violent  impulse  to  eat  human  flesh,  and  who,  to  gratify 
his  singular  desire,  committed  several  murders.  This  girl, 
though  separated  from  her  father  for  a  long  time,  and  edu- 
cated carefully  among  respectable  persons  not  related  to  her 
family,  was  overcome  by  the  same  horrible  desire  to  eat 
human  flesh. 

Many  idiots  are  mischievous,  and  manifest  the  propensity 
to  kill.  [N'umerous  facts  are  recorded  in  books,  and  several 
have  fallen  under  my  own  observation. 

Individuals  are  occasionally  alienated  only  in  the  propen- 
sity to  destroy.  At  Berlin,  Mr.  Mayer  showed  us  a  soldier 
whose  general  health  was  bad;  he  was  very  irritable,  and 
much  weakened  by  grief  for  the  loss  of  his  wife;  he  had 
every  month  a  fit  of  violent  convulsions,  the  approach  of 
which  he  felt,  accompanied  with  an  immoderate  propensity  to 
kill;  he  then  begged  to  be  chained;  but  at  the  end  of  a  few 
days  the  fit  left  him,  the  fatal  propensity  disappeared,  and  he 
himself  fixed  the  period  when  he  might  be  safely  delivered. 
At  Haina  we  met  with  a  man  who  at  certain  periods  felt  an 
irresistible  desire  to  maltreat  others ;  he  also  knew  his  unfor- 
tunate propensity,  and  begged  to  be  confined  till  his  fit  was 

*  Opera  minora,  torn.  ii.  p.  98. 

f  Oratio  prima  de  regimine  mentis  quod  medicorum  est. 


168 


PHRENOLOGY 


over.  A  person,  of  a  melancholy  turn  of  mind,  having  seen 
a  criminal  executed,  was  so  much  upset  by  the  spectacle,  that 
he  suddenly  became  possessed  with  a  propensity  to  kill, 
although  he  felt  the  strongest  aversion  to  commit  the  act;  he 
spoke  of  his  deplorable  situation,  weeping  bitterly,  struck 
his  head,  wrung  his  hands,  exhorted  himself,  and  admonished 
his  friends  to  take  care  and  to  fly;  he  even  thanked  them 
if  they  restrained  him. 

Pinel  has  also  frequently  observed  the  fierce  impulse  to 
destroy,  and  speaks  of  one  man  who  showed  no  mark  of 
alienation  in  memory,  imagination,  or  judgment,  but  who 
confessed  that  his  propensity  to  murder  was  so  involuntary 
and  irresistible,  that  his  wife,  notwithstanding  the  love  he 
bore  her,  was  near  being  immolated,  he  having  only  time  to 
warn  her  to  fly.  In  his  lucid  intervals  he  made  the  most 
melancholy  reflections,  expressed  horror  at  himself,  and  was 
disgusted  with  life  to  such  a  degree,  that  he  several  times 
attempted  to  put  an  end  to  his  existence.  ^  What  reason,' 
said  he,  '  have  I  to  cut  the  throat  of  the  overseer  of  the 
hospital,  who  treats  us  with  so  much  humanity  ?  Yet  in  the 
moments  of  my  fury  I  feel  the  same  desire  to  attack  him  as 
others,  and  to  thrust  a  dagger  into  his  breast'  Another 
madman,  who,  during  six  months  in  the  year,  suffered 
periodical  fits  of  fury,  felt  the  decrease  of  the  symptoms, 
pointed  out  the  periods  when  the  danger  was  over,  and  begged 
those  about  him  not  to  set  him  free  when  he  felt  incapable  of 
governing  his  blind  impulse  to  destroy.  In  his  calm  inter- 
vals, he  confessed,  that  during  his  fits,  it  would  be  impossible 
for  him  to  restrain  it;  he  said,  that  if  he  met  any  one  then,^ 
he  saw,  as  it  were,  the  blood  circulating  in  their  veins,  and 
felt  an  irresistible  desire  to  suck  it,  and  to  tear  their  limbs 
with  his  teeth,  to  do  so  more  commodiously.  Pinel  also 
relates  the  history  of  a  young  female,  who  every  morning 
had  a  fit  of  mania,  during  which  she  tore  all  that  fell  under 
her  hands,  and  committed  every  sort  of  violence  against  those 
who  came  near  her,  so  that  they  were  obliged  to  restrain  her 
by  a  straight- jacket ;  yet  in  the  afternoon  she  repented  of  the 
actions  of  the  morning,  and  asked  pardon,  which  she  always 


ORGAN  OF  DESTRUCTIVENESS 


169 


despaired  of  obtaining.  Pinel  quotes  another  example  of  a 
monk  alienated  bj  devotion,  who  thought  he  had  one  night 
seen  the  Virgin  Mary  surrounded  by  a  choir  of  angels  and 
happy  spirits,  and  received  an  express  order  to  kill  a  certain 
person  whom  he  considered  as  an  infidel;  he  would  have 
executed  this  commission,  had  not  his  actions  and  manner 
betrayed  him.  The  same  author  speaks  of  a  credulous  vine- 
dresser, who  was  so  violently  shaken  by  the  sermon  of  a 
missionary,  that  he  thought  himself  and  his  family  damned 
to  everlasting  pains,  if  he  did  not  save  them  by  the  baptism 
of  blood,  or  martyrdom.  He  therefore  first  endeavored  to 
murder  his  wife,  who  escaped  with  difficulty ;  he  then  killed 
two  of  his  children,  to  procure  them  eternal  life;  and  when 
confined  to  prison  before  trial,  he  cut  the  throat  of  a  criminal 
in  the  same  room  with  him,  still  with  the  intention  of  doing 
some  expiatory  act.  His  insanity  being  proved,  he  was 
ordered  to  be  shut  up  in  the  Bicetre  for  life.  Long  solitary 
confinement  exalted  his  imagination,  and  because  he  had  not 
been  executed,  he  fancied  himself  the  Almighty;  or,  accord- 
ing to  his  own  expression,  the  fourth  person  of  the  Trinity, 
sent  to  save  the  world  by  the  baptism  of  blood.  Having  been 
confined  for  ten  years,  he  became  tranquil,  and  was  permitted 
to  converse  with  the  other  convalescents  in  the  court  of  the 
hospital.  He  passed  four  years  in  this  way,  and  his  health 
seemed  restored,  but  he  was  again  suddenly  seized  with  his 
former  superstitious  and  sanguinary  ideas.  The  day  before 
Christmas  he  conceived  the  project  of  offering  up  an  expiatory 
sacrifice  by  killing  all  who  might  fall  under  his  hands;  he 
consequently  got  possession  of  a  shoemaker's  knife,  with 
which  he  gave  the  keeper  a  thrust  from  behind,  which 
fortunately  slipped  over  the  ribs;  he  then  cut  the  throats  of 
two  other  lunatics,  and  would  have  continued  his  homicides, 
had  he  not  been  overpowered  and  prevented.  These  and 
many  similar  examples,  which  occur  in  the  state  of  health 
and  disease,  prove  that  the  propensity  to  kill  and  destroy  is 
innate,  in  man  as  well  as  in  animals.  Does  not  the  whole 
history  of  mankind  indeed  confirm  this  position  ?    In  all 


iro 


PHRENOLOGY 


ages  the  earth  has  been  drenched  with  blood.  With  what  view 
then  has  this  propensity  been  created  ? 

We  cannot  imagine  that  the  propensity  to  destroy  is  given 
to  man  that  he  may  murder  his  fellow-creatures.  Carnivor- 
ous animals,  though  endowed  with  the  propensity,  do  not  kill 
individuals  of  their  own  kind;  they  only  use  it  in  slaying, 
that  they  themselves  may  live.  What  then  is  the  natural 
food  of  man  ?  To  a  great  extent,  the  flesh  of  other  animals, 
and  this  he  can  only  procure  by  inflicting  death.  Does  this 
propensity  then  determine  the  sort  of  food  proper  for  those 
possessed  of  it  ?  Gall  thinks  it  does :  I  am  not  of  his  opinion. 
It  is  certain  that  the  propensities  of  animals  are  in  relation 
to  tlieir  whole  nature,  and  that  the  disposition  to  kill  is  in 
relation  to  the  sort  of  food  they  use;  but  an  impulse  to  kill 
is  not  the  same  as  an  impulse  to  choose  flesh  as  aliment.  One 
special  faculty  produces  the  propensity  to  kill,  another  makes 
choice  of  flesh.  There  is  consequently  no  proportion  between 
the  propensity  to  kill,  and  the  want  of  food.  Some  animals 
destroy  more  than  is  necessary  for  their  support.  Some  of 
the  human  kind  like  meat,  but  cannot  slay  an  animal ;  others 
have  no  reluctance  to  kill,  and  yet  prefer  vegetables  for 
nourishment.  Children,  in  general,  have  the  propensity  to 
destroy  more  energetic  than  grown  up  persons,  yet  they  prefer 
fruits  and  vegetables  to  meat. 

We  have  still  to  inquire  into  the  essential  nature  of  this 
^  faculty.  I  think  that  its  sphere  of  activity  is  wider  than 
the  mere  disposition  which  it  generates  to  take  away  life.  It 
seems  to  produce  the  propensity  to  destroy  in  general,  with- 
out distinction  of  object,  or  manner  of  destroying.  It  may 
wreak  itself  upon  inanimate  things,  animals,  or  man,  and  in 
this  signification  may  then  be  perceived  a  necessary  and 
consistent  power  in  the  plan  of  creation.  Throughout  nature 
one  being  lives  upon  another,  and  violent  death  is  conse- 
quently a  law  in  the  system  of  the  world.  Had  nature  indeed 
created  animals  and  destined  them  to  live  upon  the  flesh  of 
others,  without  giving  them  at  the  same  time  the  means  of 
obtaining  their  object,  and  inclination  to  inflict  death,  there 
would  have  been  contradiction,    l^ature  has  even  taught 


ORGAN  OF  AMATIVENESS 


171 


carnivorous  animals  to  put  others  to  death  in  the  most  speedy 
way  possible,  by  wounding  their  neck  opposite  the  place  where 
the  spinal  chord  decussates.  Sometimes  also  there  is  a 
necessity  for  destroying  what  is  useless,  before  its  place  can 
be  supplied  by  what  is  useful;  and  many  things  relatively 
hurtful  provoke  us  to  destroy  them.  In  this  sense  it  is  lawful 
to  destroy  others  to  preserve  ourselves;  nay,  the  act  is  even 
rewarded,  and  looked  on  as  virtuous,  in  every  war  of  defence. 
On  the  contrary,  whenever  the  faculty  leads  us  to  destroy  what 
ought  to  be  preserved,  it  is  abused. 

This  faculty  then  is  gratified  by  destroying  in  general,  and 
its  manifestations  are  perceived  in  those  who  like  to  pinch, 
scratch,  bite,  break,  tear,  cut,  stab,  strangle,  demolish, 
devastate,  bum,  drown,  kill,  poison,  murder,  or  assassinate. 
It  prompts  us  to  exterminate  noxious  objects,  and  the  causes 
of  dangerous  situations. 

Gall  formerly  called  its  organ  that  of  murder,  because  he 
discovered  it  of  large  size  in  the  heads  of  two  murderers; 
but  no  faculty  can  be  named  from  its  abuse.  The  error  Gall 
committed,  however,  was  natural,  for  the  functions  of  all  the 
organs  are  most  easily  discovered  in  their  state  of  extreme 
developement,  when  they  are  very  apt  to  produce  abuses. 
Such  then  was  the  origin  of  this  erroneous  name  of  a  faculty, 
whose  well  regulated  employment  is,  like  that  of  every  other, 
essential  to  life.  I  think  the  name,  organ  of  the  propensity 
to  destroy,  or  of  destructiveness,  is  the  most  general  and  the 
most  conformable  to  its  sphere  of  activity. 

At  the  beginning  Gall  placed  the  seat  of  this  organ  too  far 
behind  the  ear,  but  a  great  number  of  observations  convinced 
us  that  its  seat  is  immediately;  above_the,^r.  {PI.  YI.  and 
YIII.  fig.  1  and  %  7L) 

II.    Organ  of  Amativeness. 

Physical  love  is  commonly  considered  as  a  peculiar  sort  of 
sensation;  but  physiologists  and  philosophers  are  not  agreed 
as  to  its  origin.  It  is  certain,  that  none  of  the  causes  which 
are  generally  admitted  suffice  to  explain  its  existence,  for  it  is 
manifested  without  these,  and  its  energy  is  not  proportionate 


172 


PHRENOLOGY 


to  them.  It  is  therefore  necessary  to  find  other  conditions 
adequate  to  account  for  the  phenomenon  of  this  desire. 

Gall  did  not  think  there  was  an  organ  of  this  propensity 
in  the  brain,  but  discovered  it  by  accident.  Being  physician 
to  a  widow  who  was  subject  to  violent  hysterical  fits,  during 
which  her  head  was  drawn  backwards  with  great  force,  he 
sometimes  supported  it  with  his  >  hand,  and  was  astonished  by 
the  great  thickness  and  heat  of  her  neck.  Acquainted  with 
her  peculiar  character,  he  asked  himself,  whether  the  size 
of  her  neck,  and  consequent  developement  of  her  cerebellum, 
might  not  have  some  relation  to  her  inordinate  passion  ? 

Continuing  observations  begun  from  this  hint,  he  soon 
established  the  point  to  his  own  satisfaction;  and  it  is  now 
impossible  to  unite  a  greater  number  of  proofs  in  demonstra- 
tion of  any  natural  truth,  than  may  be  presented  to  determine 
the  function  of  the  cerebellum. 

It  would  be  interesting  as  well  as  important  to  show,  that 
those  animals  which  have  a  nervous  mass  corresponding  to 
the  cerebellum,  reproduce  by  sexual  union.  This  alone,  if  it 
could  be  verified  through  all  classes  of  beings,  would  be 
sufiicient  to  prove  the  peculiar  function  of  this  portion  of  the 
brain.  The  minuteness  of  the  smaller  animals,  however,  pre- 
vents demonstration  by  dissection,  and  at  the  present  we  may 
say  the  undertaking  is  impracticable. 

In  new-born  children,  the  cerebellum  is  to  the  brain  as 
one  to  nine,  ten,  thirteen,  twenty,  or  more ;  and  in  adults,  as 
one  to  five,  six,  or  seven.  Professor  Ackermann  maintained 
that  the  cerebellum  was  perfectly  developed  at  the  end  of  the 
second  year.  Gall  and  I  have  compared  the  heads  and  skulls 
of  children  from  two  till  sixteen  years  old,  and  have  always 
found  that  at  these  ages  it  is  still  imperfectly  developed. 
But  in  proportion  as  the  cerebellum  increases,  its  function 
appears.  It  has  been  said  that  the  cerebellum  grows  in 
proportion  as  the  sexual  propensity  becomes  active ;  but  other 
proofs  show  evidently  that  the  developement  of  the  cerebellum 
always  precedes  this  desire. 

In  adults,  the  cerebellum  having  attained  its  full  size,  the 
amative  propensity  is  most  energetic,  and  then  there  is  a 


ORGAN  OF  AMATIVENESS 


173 


constant  relation  between  its  developement  and  the  goadings 
of  the  inclination.  It  is  well  known  that  men  feel  in  very 
different  degrees  the  impulses  of  the  sexual  passion:  some 
individuals  are  almost  or  wholly  deprived  of  it;  others 
experience  it  moderately ;  whilst  others  again  feel  its  ungov- 
ernable violence.  In  the  first,  the  cerebellum  is  very  small, 
{PI,  III.  fig.  2,)  in  the  second,  it  is  of  a  middling  size;  and 
in  the  third  class,  it  is  very  large  and  prominent.  {PI.  Ill, 
fig.  1.) 

Besides  it  is  indubitable  that  men,  {PI.  V.  fig.  1  and  2,) 
and  male  animals  in  general,  have  a  larger  cerebellum  than 
women,  {PI.  IV.  fig.  1  and  2,)  and  females.  This,  how- 
ever, is  by  no  means  an  invariable  law ;  there  are  exceptions, 
and  these  occur  more  frequently  among  mankind  than  among 
animals ;  yet  there  is  a  constant  relation  between  the  develope- 
ment of  the  cerebellum  and  the  propensity  in  question. 

It  has  been  objected,  that  the  brain  in  general  is  larger  in 
men  than  in  women,  and  that  consequently  it  is  not  astonish- 
ing that  the  cerebella  of  men  should  also  be  larger  than  those 
of  women.  Many  individuals,  however,  have  large  brains 
and  small  cerebella,  and  vice  versa.  There  is  consequently 
no  proportion  between  the  brain  and  the  cerebellum.  The 
sexual  propensity,  moreover,  is  never  in  proportion  to  the 
size  of  the  brain ;  but  cceteris  paribus,  always  to  that  of  the 
cerebellum. 

This  organ,  like  all  others,  may  be  confirmed  from  observ- 
ing nations  as  well  as  individuals  who  feel  this  propensity  in 
a  high  degree.  Various  pathological  facts  in  confirmation 
of  the  functions  of  the  cerebellum  are  mentioned  in  the 
Memoires  de  Chirurgie,  by  Baron  Larrey,  in  the  Elements  of 
Physiology,  by  Eicherand,  in  the  work  on  Apoplexy,  by 
Serres,  &;c.  Gall  and  myself  have  observed  several  facts  of 
this  kind. 

We  may  even  take  the  position  of  the  cerebellum  as  con- 
fiipnaatory  of  its  destination.  The  desire  destined  to  preserve 
the  species,  is  the  most  common  in  animals,  and  the  cerebel- 
lum accordingly  is  the  most  inferior  portion  of  the  brain. 

From  all  that  has  been  said,  and  from  the  infinite  number 


174 


PHRENOLOGY 


of  observations  made  on  man  and  animals,  we  conclude  that 
the  special  function  of  the  cerebellum  is  fairly  established, 
and  think  that  the  mutilations  practised  by  M.  Flourens,  and 
Mr.  Magendie,  at  Paris,  do  not  invalidate  our  conclusions 
drawn  from  the  healthy  state.  The  former  infers  from  his 
experiments,  that  the  cerebellum  serves  for  the  regulation  of 
muscular  motion;  whilst  similar  experiments  made  by 
Magendie,  occasioned  an  irresistible  tendency  in  the  animals 
to  run  or  swim  back. 

The  only  point  we  have  still  to  examine,  is  the  name  which 
will  best  express  the  primitive  faculty.  Gall  calls  it  the 
instinct  of  propagation.  It  certainly  is  essential  to  that  end, 
but  it  often  acts  without  there  being  any  intention  to  continue 
the  species,  and  is  also  satisfied  in  various  ways  incompatible 
with  such  a  purpose.  We  do  not  usually  speak  of  the  nerves 
of  the  instinct  of  nutrition,  but  of  those  of  hunger  and  thirst. 
The  same  language  should  be  used  when  speaking  of  the 
organ  in  question.  Gall's  name  does  not  express  the  whole 
sphere  of  activity  of  the  faculty.  isTow  I  constantly  insist 
on  the  importance  of  adopting  titles  which  do  not  designate 
determinate  actions.  Physical  love  indicates  a  more  general 
application  than  the  love  or  instinct  of  propagation,  but  this 
instinct  or  desire  is  no  more  physical  than  the  love  of  off- 
spring, or  self-love,  or  the  love  of  glory,  &c. ;  I  therefore 
prefer  the  name  of  Amativeness, 

To  observe  accurately  and  to  substantiate  the  organs  in 
general,  it  is  necessary  to  know  their  situations.  The  organ 
of  amativeness  is  situated  at  the  top  of  the  neck,  and  its 
size  may  be  known  by  considering  the  space  between  the 
mastoid  process  immediately  behind  the  ear,  and  the  pro- 
tuberance called  occipital  spine  in  the  middle  of  the  hind 
head,  in  all  its  dimensions.  Those  who  would  make  observa- 
tions on  the  cerebellum  of  the  lower  animals,  should  know 
the  variety  of  structure  it  presents  among  them.  In  birds 
it  is  almost  single;  in  the  mammalia  it  has  lateral  parts  or 
lobes  added  to  its  fundamental  or  middle  portion  (processus 
vermiformis.)  More  details  of  the  structure  of  the  cerebel- 
lum are  given  in  my  work  on  the  Anatomy  of  the  Brain. 


ORGAN  OF  AMATIVENESS 


175 


Practical  Reflections. 

The  reader  must  bear  in  mind  that  the  cerebellum  is  only 
the  organ  of  the  amative  impulse,  and  not  of  the  generative 
power.  Its  influence  in  society  is  immense.  It  may  excite 
various  feelings,  such  as  combativeness,  adhesiveness,  and 
destructiveness,  inspire  timid  persons  with  great  moral  cour- 
age, and  at  other  times  and  under  different  circumstances, 
mitigates  our  nature,  and  increases  the  mutual  regards  of 
the  sexes  towards  each  other.  The  cock  shows  benevolence 
to  hens;  in  general  the  males  are  milder  to  females  than  to 
individuals  of  their  own  sex,  and  so  are  men  more  kind  and 
generous  towards  women,  than  towards  other  men.  Fathers 
are  commonly  more  attached  to  daughters,  than  to  sons,  and 
mothers  are  often  prepossessed  in  favor  of  their  sons.  Female 
servants  frequently  show  greater  attention  to  young  boys  than 
to  girls.  The  attraction  of  sexes  towards  each  other  is 
involuntary,  and  society  improves,  if  both  sexes  meet,  &c. 

On  the  other  hand,  this  propensity  has  caused  great  dis- 
order as  well  in  civil  as  in  other  peculiar,  especially,  religioiis 
institutions,  where  its  activity  has  not  been  duly  considered. 
Can  it  be  reasonable  to  admit  every  youth  to  a  profession, 
the  members  of  which  are  compelled  to  swear  chastity  for 
life  ?  If  such  a  vow  be  necessary,  would  it  not  be  better  to 
destine  to  the  profession  of  religion  those  only  who  are  bom 
eunuchs,  or  those  in  whom  the  cerebellum  is  very  little  active  ? 

The  disorderly  satisfaction  of  the  amative  propensity  un- 
dermines the  health  of  individuals,  and  even  of  the  species; 
and  I  think  that  as  soon  as  young  persons  understand  the 
difference  and  the  distinction  of  the  sexual  functions,  they 
should  be  taught  the  laws  of  propagation,  and  not  be  kept  in 
a  state  of  ignorance  that  may  provoke  a  fatal  curiosity,  com- 
promising in  the  end  their  own  and  their  descendants'  bodily 
and  mental  constitution.  This  work  being  devoted  to 
physiological  inquiries  alone,  it  would  be  out  of  place  to  say 
more  on  the  influence  of  the  organ  of  amativeness  here. 
Important  reflections  might  be  made  since  we  see  seduction 
encouraged,  and  have  daily  opportunities  of  witnessing  the 


176 


PHRENOLOGY 


disastrous  consequences  of  neglecting  its  proper  direction. 
I  wish  every  one  were  convinced  how  nearly  legislators, 
moralists,  teachers,  physicians,  and  all  friends  of  humanity 
are  concerned  in  regulating  the  sexual  propensity.  In  this 
respect  I  refer  the  reader  to  the  first  section  of  my  work  on 
Education. 

III.    Organ  of  Philoprogenitiveness. 

I  shall  consider,  in  the  first  place,  whether  it  be  necessary 
or  not  to  admit  a  particular  feeling  which  watches  over 
and  provides  for  the  wants  of  a  helpless  offspring,  and 
then  state  the  circumstances  which  led  to  the  discovery  of 
its  organ. 

]S[either  males  nor  females  of  certain  tribes  of  animals  take 
any  care  of  their  progeny.  Their  eggs  are  resigned  to  chance, 
or  rather  to  the  influence  of  some  external  agent.  This 
happens  amongst  insects,  fishes,  and  reptiles.  Among  birds, 
too,  the  cuckoo  is  a  striking  example  of  absence  of  parental 
solicitude.  Its  propensity  to  physical  love  is  great,  but  it 
neither  builds  a  nest  nor  hatches  its  eggs.  These  are  de- 
posited in  the  nests  of  small  birds  which  live  on  insects,  and 
they  hatch  and  rear  the  young  cuckoo,  with  particular 
attachment. 

The  females  of  other  kinds  of  animals  alone  take  care  of 
their  progeny ;  bulls,  stallions,  dogs,  cocks,  &c.,  are  indifferent 
about  their  young,  while  the  cow,  mare,  bitch,  hen,  &c.,  are 
extremely  attached  to  them. 

The  males  and  females  of  other  tribes,  again,  form  an 
attachment  for  life,  and  both  sexes  tend  their  offspring. 
The  instinct  of  parental  love  is,  however,  more  energetic  in 
the  females.  The  fox,  which  resembles  in  so  many  points, 
differs  from  the  dog  in  so  far  as  he  is  attached  to  his  female 
for  life,  shares  in  all  her  cares,  and  if  she  happens  to  be 
killed,  continues  to  provide  for  the  young  ones.  Parental 
love,  nevertheless,  is  stronger  in  the  female  than  in  the  male ; 
for  if  both  be  pursued,  the  male  leaves  the  young  sooner  than 
the  female.  Many  kinds  of  birds  also  live  in  pairs,  and  are 
jointly  solicitous  in  satisfying  the  wants  of  the  young.  These 


ORGAN  OF  PHILOPROGENITIVENESS 


177 


differences  are  constant;  does  not  each  of  them,  even  on  the 
slightest  consideration,  seem  to  require  peculiar  organization  ? 

In  the  human  race  this  propensity  is  generally  stronger  in 
women  than  in  men.  This  truth  is  proclaimed  not  only  by 
the  difference  between  fathers  and  mothers,  but  also  by  that 
between  the  sexes  universally.  We  never  hire  male  servants 
to  take  care  of  our  children.  Girls  show  the  predominance 
of  philoprogenitiveness  early  in  life,  by  their  choice  of  play- 
things. They  attach  themselves  to  dolls  and  cradles,  whilst 
boys  prefer  drums,  horses,  whips,  &c. 

Among  all  kinds  of  animals  which  take  care  of  their 
progeny,  there  are  always  some  females  who  feel  little  or 
none  of  the  propensity,  and  certain  males  who  manifest  the 
inclination  strongly.  There  are  even  women  who  look  on 
children  as  a  heavy  burden,  though  the  majority  deem  them 
their  chief  treasure  and  greatest  source  of  happiness;  and 
this  not  only  in  the  miserable  portion  of  society,  but  indis- 
criminately among  rich  and  poor.  Cases  of  insanity  are 
by  no  means  unfrequent  in  which  the  fimction  of  parental 
love  is  deranged. 

All  the  general  arguments,  in  fine,  adduced  to  prove  the 
plurality  of  the  organs,  may  be  applied  to  the  organ  of 
philoprogenitiveness  in  particular. 

To  answer  the  objections  made  against  love  of  offspring, 
as  a  fundamental  power,  will  be  an  easy  task.  This  feeling 
is  certainly  not  the  result  of  reason,  since  it  acts  sometimes 
in  opposition  to  reason  in  spoiling  children.  It  acts  like  an 
instinct,  or  as  a  propensity.  It  has  been  said,  that  it  is  the 
result  of  self-love,  of  the  desire  of  suckling,  and  of  the  moral 
sentiments,  and  not  of  a  peculiar  propensity.  These  causes, 
though  commonly  admitted,  are,  however,  inadequate  to 
produce  the  love  of  offspring,  since  in  many  animals  strongly 
attached  to  their  progeny,  they  do  not  exist.  Birds,  and  the 
males  of  mammiferous  animals,  do  not  give  suck,  yet  many 
of  them  love  their  young.  Mothers  very  frequently  do  not 
suckle  their  children,  they  are,  nevertheless,  exceedingly 
attached  to  them,  'No  animal,  lower  in  the  scale  than  man, 
has  any  idea  of  duty,  or  moral  responsibility ;  and  the  tender- 

12 


1T8 


PHRENOLOGY 


ness  of  mothers,  of  the  human  species,  is  never  in  proportion 
to  the  moral  and  religious  sentiments  with  which  they  are 
endowed.  On  the  other  hand,  this  feeling  cannot  be  the 
result  of  benevolence  in  general,  since  it  exists  often  in  a 
high  degree  in  the  most  brutal  tribes,  as  in  the  Caribs,  and 
in  ferocious  animals. 

Others  again  have  said,  this  propensity  cannot  be  funda- 
mental, because  it  is  not  always  active.  The  same  objection 
may,  with  equal  propriety,  be  made  against  every  instinct 
of  animals,  and  against  all  the  desires  of  man.  ^^^o  funda- 
mental power  seems  capable  of  acting  continually;  each 
demands  repose  from  time  to  time,  and  its  intermissions  of 
activity  are  shorter  or  longer,  wherever  the  cause  of  activity 
resides,  whether  in  the  blood,  in  the  viscera,  or  in  the  cerebral 
parts. 

It  is  further  objected,  that  mothers  are  not  alike  fond  of 
every  individual  of  their  family,  that  they  sometimes  prefer 
one  to  another,  nay,  that  they  even  hate  one,  and  remain 
attached  to  the  rest. 

This  observation  holds  good,  not  only  in  mankind,  but  also 
among  animals;  still  it  is  wrong  to  infer  from  it,  that  phi- 
loprogenitiveness  is  no  fundamental  faculty.  The  external 
senses  are  not  equally  nor  always  agreeably  affected  by  all 
kinds  of  impressions,  nevertheless  they  have  their  particular 
functions.  The  stomach  digests  one  sort  of  food  more  easily 
than  another,  and,  notwithstanding,  it  remains  the  organ  of 
digestion.  The  sense  of  taste  cannot  be  denied,  since  certain 
savors  are  unpleasant.  Moreover,  j)hiloprogenitiveness  is  not 
the  only  feeling  that  acts  and  requires  satisfaction ;  a  mother 
will  naturally  prefer  that  child  who  pleases  the  greatest 
number  of  her  faculties,  and  whose  dispositions  most  nearly 
resemble  her  own ;  and  she  may  be  less  kind  to  another  who 
is  differently  constituted,  or  who  disturbs  her  happiness. 

The  love  of  offspring,  then,  must  be  considered  as  a  funda- 
mental power,  and  a  peculiar  organ  for  its  manifestations 
admitted.    Let  us  now  see  hoAV  this  was  discovered. 

At  an  early  period  of  his  observations,  Gall  was  attracted 
by  a  peculiar  and  very  regularly  occurring  protuberance  on 


ORGAN  OF  PHILOPROGENITIVENESS  179 


the  back  part  of  the  heads  of  females.  {PI.  IV.  fig.  1.)  He 
also  found  a  similar  projection  in  the  skulls  of  children  and 
of  monkeys.  Convinced  that  the  large  mass  of  brain  in  this 
situation  must  perform  some  important  function  in  the 
animal  economy,  all  his  efforts,  during  a  period  of  five  years, 
to  detect  its  office,  were  notwithstanding  unsuccessful.  At 
first  he  fancied  it  might  indicate  the  greater  nervous  irri- 
tability and  sensibility  of  women  and  children;  but  he  soon 
saw  that  irritability  was  a  conamon  quality  of  every  organ, 
and  therefore  abandoned  this  supposition.  In  his  courses  of 
lectures  delivered  from  time  to  time,  he  was  in  the  habit  of 
mentioning  his  difficulties  relative  to  this  protuberance,  when 
at  last  a  clergyman  remarked,  that  monkeys  were  very  much 
attached  to  their  young  ones.  Reflecting  on  this  suggestion, 
viewing  the  situation  of  the  cerebral  part,  immediately  above 
the  organ  of  amativeness,  and  appealing  to  observation,  Gall 
soon  established  its  proper  function.  The  developement  of 
the  organ  he  found  constantly  to  coincide  with  the  energy  of 
the  propensity,  which  prompts  to  protect  and  succor  the 
young.  Species,  sexes,  and  individuals,  powerfully  endowed 
with  the  love  of  offspring,  have  the  organ  greatly  developed. 
Women  and  females  have  it  commonly  larger  than  men  and 
males.  Gall  possesses  the  skull  of  a  woman  who  became 
diseased,  and  had  the  notion  of  being  pregnant  with  five 
children ;  the  corresponding  organ  in  this  skull  is  exceedingly 
large.  Several  nations  are  remarkable  for  this  propensity. 
The  attachment  of  negroes  and  Indoos  to  their  offspring  is 
known ;  and  they  have  the  organization  on  which  the  feeling 
depends  prominent. 

As  the  English  language  possesses  no  single  word  that 
indicates  love  of  offspring,  I  have  employed  two  Greek  roots, 
which,  in  conjunction,  define  accurately  the  primitive 
propensity.  The  title  that  results  is  long;  but  I  could  not 
say  philogenitiveness,  because  that  would  indicate  the  love 
of  producing  offspring.  As,  however,  progeny  is  synonymous 
with  offspring,  and  philoprogeny  means  the  love  of  offspring. 
I  adopt  the  term  pMloprogenitiveness  for  the  faculty  of 
producing  the  love  of  offspring. 


180 


PHRENOLOGY 


Practical  Reflections. 

The  faculty  of  philoprogenitiveness  is  obviously  destined 
to  the  preservation  of  the  tender  and  weak  offspring,  and  its 
intensity  is  the  strongest  in  a  mother  during  the  first  months 
after  birth,  when  it  is  the  most  necessary  to  the  tender  and 
helpless  progeny.  Sometimes  it  is  too  active,  and  produces 
many  disorders,  principally  by  spoiling  children.  Parents 
might  often  spare  themselves  a  great  deal  of  pain  and  much 
uneasiness,  did  they  maintain  this  propensity  in  harmony 
with  the  other  primitive  faculties.  A  mother  may  behave 
unjustly  to  others  for  the  sake  of  her  children.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  small  size  of  the  organ,  or  its  inactivity,  renders 
her  indifferent  to  children.  {PI.  IV.  fig.  2.)  This  condi- 
tion ought  to  be  considered  as  one  of  the  indirect  causes 
prompting  to  infanticide.  Gall  and  I  have  examined  the 
heads  of  twenty-nine  women  guilty  of  infanticide,  and  in 
twenty-five  of  them  the  organ  of  philoprogenitiveness  was 
very  small.  The  small  size  of  this  organ,  however,  does  not 
excite  a  mother  to  destroy  her  child,  but  she  who  is  destitute 
of  the  love  of  offspring  is  less  able  to  combat  those  external 
circumstances  which  provoke  a  commission  of  the  crime. 
Such  a  mother  will  not  resist  as  she  would  have  done,  had 
she  been  influenced  by  the  powerful  sway  which  philopro- 
genitiveness exerts  over  the  female  mind. 

I  have  already  pointed  out  the  place  of  philoprogenitive- 
ness. Although  the  protuberance,  which  indicates  its  great 
developement,  be  commonly  single,  the  organ  itself  is  always 
double,  that  is,  there  is  one  on  each  side  of  the  middle  line 
of  the  head.  It  appears  single  when  the  posterior  lobes  of 
the  brain  are  very  near  to  each  other,  and  double  when  they 
are  somewhat  separated.  This  difference  of  form  is  common 
to  all  the  cerebral  organs  situated  on  each  side  of  the  mesial 
plane.  This  organ  is  often  large,  rather  in  breadth  than  in 
length. 

By  means  of  this  and  the  preceding  organ,  it  is  very  easy 
to  distinguish  the  skulls  of  males  from  those  of  females  of 
the  same  kind;  and  it  is  peculiarly  worthy  of  notice  that 


ORGAN  OF  PHILOPROGENITIVENESS  181 


throughout  all  animals  there  is  a  striking  similarity  preserved 
in  the  form  of  the  skulls  of  each  sex.  The  skulls  of  men 
and  males  are  generally  shorter  and  wider,  those  of  women 
and  females  longer  and  narrower. 

Some  phrenologists  in  Scotland  think  that  a  softness  of 
manner,  and  a  sympathy  for  whatever  is  weak  and  helpless, 
generally  accompany,  and  are  connected  with  large  philo- 
progenitiveness.  I  have  already  mentioned,  that  Gall  enter- 
tained a  similar  idea  at  the  beginning,  but  gave  it  up,  and 
that  the  love  of  offspring  may  be  very  active  in  individuals  of 
rough  and  brutal  manners.  The  Carib  race,  endowed  with 
great  ferocity,  are  much  attached  to  their  young,  and  submit 
to  all  the  inconveniences  of  bringing  them  up,  amidst  priva- 
tions and  hardships  of  every  kind.  The  'New  Zealanders  are 
the  same.  In  the  Library  of  Entertaining  Knowledge,  vol.  i.  p. 
359,  we  read,  '  The  New  Zealanders,  both  parents,  are  in 
general  fondly  attached  to  their  children,  and  treat  them  with 
great  kindness  and  indulgence.  Mr.  Ellis,  during  the  short 
time  he  spent  at  the  Bay  of  Islands  in  1816,  went  one  day 
to  the  residence  of  the  chief  Telora  to  request  him  to  accom- 
pany himself  on  a  short  excursion,  which  the  chief  immedi- 
ately agreed  to.  But,  says,  Mr.  Ellis,  before  we  set  out,  an 
incident  occurred  which  greatly  raised  my  estimation  of  his 
character.  In  the  front  of  the  hut  sat  his  wife,  and  round 
her  playing  two  or  three  children.  In  passing  from  the  hut 
to  the  boat,  Teloro  struck  one  of  the  little  ones  with  his  foot. 
The  child  cried,  and  though  the  chief  had  his  mat  on,  and  his 
gun  in  his  hand,  and  was  in  the  act  of  stepping  into  the 
boat,  where  we  were  waiting  for  him,  he  no  sooner  heard  the 
cries  than  he  turned  back,  took  the  child  up  in  his  arms, 
stroked  its  little  head,  dried  its  tears,  and  giving  it  to  the 
mother,  hastened  to  join  us.' 

The  tiger,  hyena,  and  the  most  ferocious  tribes  of  animals, 
show  a  fondness  for  their  young,  not  inferior  to  that  of  the 
gentlest  and  most  docile.  Philoprogenitiveness  produces 
only  sympathy  for  young  beings,  but  not  tenderness  in 
general.  It  may  be  combined  with  other  tender  feelings,  and 
increase  their  activity  towards  children. 


18^ 


PHRENOLOGY 


IV.    Organ  of  Adhesiveness, 

Friendship  is  commonly  considered  as  the  result  of  reflec- 
tion, the  consequence  of  some  analogy  between  the  faculties 
of  individuals  or  as  an  effect  of  mutual  interest.  Some  par- 
ticular instinct,  however,  producing  various  attachments, 
must  be  admitted  amongst  animals  in  whom  no  moral  consid- 
eration nor  any  idea  of  interest  can  be  supposed  to  have 
weight.  This  seems  to  be  evident  from  numerous  examples 
among  animals.  I  have  been  assured  by  good  authority  that 
a  female  fox,  brought  up  with  a  male  fox  and  left  loose  and 
free,  carried  to  him  hares,  rabbits,  and  one  morning  a  guinea 
fowl,  though  there  were  none  of  the  latter  tribe  within  the 
reach  of  seven  miles.  All  dogs  are  not  susceptible  of  the 
same  degree  of  attachment,  though  the  treatment  they  receive 
ought  to  excite  it ;  some,  on  the  contrary,  are  attached  in 
opposition  to  their  interest,  and  though  abused  and  mal- 
treated, still  remain  faithful  to  their  masters,  and  die  on  their 
graves.  Moreover,  there  is  something  involuntary  in  attach- 
ment, and  its  manifestations  are  too  early  and  too  sudden 
to  result  from  reflection.  It  is  evidently  a  feeling,  and  a 
feeling  of  the  animal  nature.  Even  criminals  have  fre- 
quently displayed  great  attachment  to  their  associates;  and 
instances  are  not  wanting  in  which  they  have  preferred  self- 
destruction  to  denunciation  of  their  companions.  Thus,  a 
highwayman,  confined  in  the  prison  of  Lichtenstein,  near 
Vienna,  hanged  himself,  that  he  might  not  be  forced  to 
betray  his  accomplices.  ^  Mary  Macinnes,  executed  in  Edin- 
burgh for  murder,  had  gained  the  affections  of  a  person, 
whose  name  need  not  be  mentioned,  and  her  attachment  to 
him  continued  strong  in  death,  and  assumed  even  a  romantic 
appearance  in  the  last  moments  of  her  mortal  career.  He 
had  sent  her  a  pocket  handkerchief,  having  his  name  written 
in  one  comer,  and  also  half  an  orange,  with  a  desire  that  she 
should  eat  the  latter  on  the  scaffold,  in  token  of  their  mutual 
affection;  he  having  eaten  the  other  half,  the  preceding 
morning,  at  the  corresponding  hour.  She  held  the  corner 
of  the  napkin  in  her  mouth,  almost  all  the  night  preceding 


ORGAN  OF  ADHESIVENESS 


183 


her  execution,  and  even  on  the  scaffold.  When  seated  on 
the  drop,  the  turnkey  gave  her  the  half  orange,  she  took  it 
out  of  his  hand  without  the  least  fear — she  seemed  to  have 
forgot  eternity  in  the  ardor  of  her  attachment.'  PhrenoL 
Transact,  p.  376. 

Though  the  necessity  of  some  organ  of  attachment  was 
evident,  it  was  difficult,  however,  to  point  out  its  seat  in  man ; 
his  actions  being  sometimes  embellished  by  the  appearance  of 
friendship,  whilst  but  little  of  the  feeling  subsists  in  reality. 
Gall  examined  the  head  of  a  woman,  at  Vienna,  who  was 
looked  upon  as  a  model  of  friendship;  she  had  suffered 
many  changes  of  fortune,  had  been  alternately  rich  and  poor, 
but  was  always  attached  to  her  former  friends.  He  found 
the  cerebral  part  situated  upward  and  outw^ard  from  the 
organ  of  philoprogenitiveness,  very  prominent,  and  called  it 
the  organ  of  friendship.  He  neglected,  during  a  long  time, 
to  make  farther  observations  on  this  organ,  but  many  facts 
have  subsequently  been  gathered,  and  its  seat  is  now 
ascertained.    (PL  V.  fig.  1  and  2  IV.) 

The  strength  of  attachment  is  very  different  in  different 
species  of  animals,  and  even  in  individuals  of  the  same  kind ; 
it  is  greater  in  women  than  in  men,  and  greater  in  one  nation 
than  in  another. 

This  faculty  induces  individuals  of  the  same  kinds  to 
congregate,  and  live  in  society.  In  several  species,  too,  the 
males  and  females  are  attached  for  life,  and  dwell  domestic- 
ally together.  The  fox  and  many  birds  are  examples  of 
this.  The  two  sexes  would  leave  each  other  as  soon  as  the 
amative  propensity  is  satisfied,  did  not  nature,  by  a  peculiar 
instinct,  prevent  this.  Yet  it  is  to  be  observed  that  the 
instinct  of  attachment  for  life,  and  that  of  society,  are  not 
mere  degrees  of  energy  of  the  faculty  of  attachment.  Eor 
there  are  animals  which  live  in  society  without  being  attached 
for  life,  as  the  bull,  dog,  cock,  &:c. ;  others  which  live  in  society 
and  in  families,  as  starlings,  ravens,  crows,  &c. ;  and  others 
again  which  are  attached  for  life  without  living  in  society,  as 
the  fox,  magpie,  &:c.  The  instinct,  therefore,  of  living  in 
society,  and  that  of  living  in  family,  are  modifications  proper 


184 


PHRENOLOGY 


and  peculiar  in  their  nature,  in  the  same  way  as  the  relish 
for  vegetables  or  flesh  is  a  modification  of  smell  and  taste  in 
carnivorous  and  herbivorous  animals.  Man  belongs  to  the 
class  of  animals  v^hich  is  social  and  attached  for  life ;  society 
and  marriage  are  consequently  not  effects  of  human  reflection, 
but  of  an  original  decree  of  the  Creator. 

Gall  does  not  coincide  in  the  opinion  that  attachment  for 
life  in  man  and  animals  results  from  this  feeling.  He  thinks 
that  marriage  exists  in  animals,  since  both  the  male  and 
female  concur  in  taking  care  of  their  progeny.  I  grant  that 
this  feeling  may  assist  the  love  of  offspring,  and  may  be 
influenced  by  amativeness  and  philoprogenitiveness,  but  it 
seems  to  me,  that  if  attachment  of  sexes  were  the  result  of 
philoprogenitiveness,  both  sexes  would  only  remain  together 
as  long  as  their  love  of  offspring  lasts,  and  is  necessary  to  the 
preservation  of  their  young.  On  the  other  hand,  men  and 
women  may  be  attached  to  each  other  for  life,  without  the 
least  desire  of  offspring.  It  seems  to  me,  that  the  special 
faculty  now  under  consideration  extends  its  sphere  of  activity 
still  farther,  and  that  it  attaches  us  to  our  parents,  brothers, 
sisters,  and  friends,  and  to  all  beings  around  us,  to  plants, 
animals  and  things;  in  short,  to  all  we  possess,  whether  ani- 
mate or  inanimate.  It  produces  also  the  feeling  of  habit  or 
custom.  Friendship  consequently  is  only  one  of  the  modifi- 
cations of  the  faculty.  If  attachment  for  life  belong  to  some 
portion  of  its  organ,  it  must  be  to  that  which  is  nearest  the 
organ  of  philoprogenitiveness. 

In  conformity  with  the  preceding  considerations,  the  name 
Adhesiveness  seems  to  me  capable  of  denoting  this  special 
faculty,  whose  objects  are  friendship,  marriage,  society  and 
attachment  in  general.  The  term  adhesiveness  has  been  used 
hitherto  merely  in  a  physical  sense;  but  many  other  words, 
which  now  bear  a  mental  signification,  were  in  the  like  case 
originally.  Attachment  would  indicate  only  the  effect  of 
this  faculty,  and  I  require  a  name  which  expresses  the  faculty 
of  producing  such  an  effect.  Abuse  results  from  its  too  great 
energy,  in  regretting  over-much  the  loss  of  a  friend,  &c. 
Without  attachment  men  become  anchorites  and  hermits. 


ORGAN  OF  INHABITIVENESS 


185 


V.    Organ  of  Inhahitiveness. 

When  we  examine  the  habits  and  manners  of  animals,  we 
see  that  difterent  kinds  are  attached  to  particular  regions 
and  countries.  Nature  having  intended  that  every  region 
and  every  country  should  be  inhabited,  has  assigned  to  all 
animals  their  dwellings,  and  given  to  every  species  a  propen- 
sity to  live  in  some  particular  local  situation.  If  we  place 
an  animal  in  any  region  other  than  that  destined  for  it,  it 
feels  ill  or  uneasy,  and  seeks  to  return  to  its  natural  dwelling. 
Some  seek  the  water  from  the  first  moment  of  their  existence. 
Turtles  and  ducks,  as  soon  as  they  are  hatched,  run  towards 
it.  Other  young  animals  again,  stay  upon  dry  land;  some 
of  these  prefer  elevated  and  mountainous  regions;  some  the 
level  country ;  and  others  the  marshes.  Among  the  feathered 
tribes,  some  live  in  the  higher,  others  in  the  lower  regions; 
for  the  power  of  flying  does  not  produce  the  instinct  that 
prompts  the  eagle  to  soar  into  the  highest  regions  of  air; 
other  birds,  though  their  power  of  flying  is  very  great,  have 
not  this  propensity.  Some  birds  build  on  the  tops,  some  in 
the  middle,  and  others  in  holes  of  trees;  some  on  the  earth, 
some  in  the  banks  of  rivers,  &c.  IN'ow  what  is  the  cause  of 
this  modified  instinct? 

It  is  often  said  that  animals  choose  their  particular  dwell- 
ings according  to  their  general  organization.  Birds  are 
organized  to  fly,  fishes  to  swim,  and  the  chamois  and  wild- 
goat  to  climb  upon  mountains. 

It  is  true,  that  the  external  and  internal  organization  of 
animals  is  adapted  to  their  manner  of  living;  fishes  cannot 
exist  in  the  air,  nor  birds  under  water.  Moreover,  animals 
commonly  find  their  food  in  the  places  which  they  inhabit. 
This  alone,  however,  is  not  the  only  condition  that  determines 
their  particular  dwellings.  Some  love  situations  where  there 
is  no  food ;  the  chamois  and  wild-goat  dwell  upon  rocks  which 
are  entirely  barren,  and  are  obliged  to  descend  into  the 
middle  regions  to  find  their  sustenance.  Again,  there  are 
kinds  which  like  the  higher  regions  of  the  air,  and  which 
yet  seek  their  food  upon  the  earth.    Eagles  and  hawks  hover 


186 


PHRENOLOGY 


very  high,  but  catch  their  prey  upon  the  ground.  Does  the 
lark  require  to  ascend  into  the  air  to  sing?  In  the  phil- 
osophical part,  where  I  treat  of  the  innateness  of  the  facul- 
ties, I  show  that  it  is  impossible  to  attribute  the  origin  of  any 
faculty  of  man  or  animals  to  external  circumstances. 

Parrots,  eagles,  pigeons,  and  swallows  live  upon  very 
different  substances,  and  are  very  differently  organized,  yet 
they  are  all  fond  of  flying  high  in  the  air.  In  conformity, 
then,  with  these  considerations,  we  must  admit  the  existence 
of  a  particular  faculty  with  its  special  organ,  which 
determines  animals  in  the  selection  of  a  habitation. 

Let  us  now  say  a  few  words  on  the  opinion  of  Gall  upon 
this  subject.  After  having  paid  great  attention  to  the  organ 
of  pride  in  man,  he  examined  such  animals  as  are  generally 
esteemed  proud,  the  cock,  peacock,  &c.,  but  could  distinguish 
no  analogy  between  the  cerebral  organs  of  these  animals  and 
those  of  proud  persons.  He,  however,  observed  in  tribes 
which  have  a  great  propensity  to  elevated  stations,  as  in  the 
chamois  and  wild-goat,  a  protuberance  which  he  identified 
with  the  organ  that  produces  pride  and  haughtiness  in  man. 

It  is  certain,  and  must  be  conceded,  that  animals  which 
live  on  mountains,  or  which  are  fond  of  high  regions,  have 
one  part  of  their  brain  more  developed  than  the  species  of 
the  same  genus  which  live  in  flat  and  low  countries.  This 
difference  is  very  sensible  in  roes,  hares,  rats,  cats,  &c.  Yet 
it  appears  to  me  that  this  circumstance  by  no  means  author- 
izes the  conclusion,  that  the  faculty  which  leads  animals  to 
seek  elevated  situations  is  essentially  the  same  as  that  which 
makes  man  proud  and  haughty. 

Gall  thinks  that  the  situation  of  the  organ  of  pride  in  man 
corresponds  with  that  of  the  organ  of  the  instinct  which 
prompts  animals  to  seek  physical  elevation.  I,  on  the  other 
hand,  maintain,  that  the  place  of  an  organ  can  prove  nothing, 
when  animals  of  different  kinds  are  spoken  of.  For  if  differ- 
ent animals  be  endowed  with  dissimilar  faculties,  their  organs 
may  still  occupy  corresponding  places  of  the  head.  We  have, 
I  suppose,  three  sorts,  whose  faculties  are  quite  different. 
The  organs  of  these  fill,  in  each,  the  skull ;  of  course,  it  is  here 


ORGAN  OF  INHABITIVENESS 


187 


evidently  impossible  to  maintain  that  the  faculties  of  the  three 
are  the  same,-  because  corresponding  places  of  the  head  are 
well  developed.  It  is  true,  that  when  an  animal  possesses  a 
faculty  in  common  with  man,  the  organ  of  that  faculty  is 
situated  in  both  in  the  same  part  of  the  head.  'Now  it  appears 
to  me  that  the  place,  of  the  protuberance  which  indicates  the 
instinct  of  animals  for  physical  height,  does  not  correspond 
with  that  which  in  man  produces  self-esteem  and  pride.  In 
animals  it  is  immediately  above  the  organ  of  philoprogenitive- 
ness;  but  the  corresponding  cerebral  part  in  man  was  unob- 
served by,  and  unknown  to  Gall.  Certainly,  it  is  not  the 
organ  of  self-esteem;  this  lies  much  higher.  Hence,  a  com- 
j)arison  of  the  situations  of  the  organs  of  both  faculties  is 
rather  against  than  in  favor  of  GalFs  assertion. 

He  also  supports  his  opinion  by  saying,  that  different 
faculties  which  are  merely  physical  in  animals,  become  moral 
in  man,  and  quotes  physical  love  as  an  example.  Now  I 
think  that  all  physical  faculties  common  to  man  and  animals 
preserve  their  nature  in  man,  and  that  the  faculty  of  physical 
love  is  in  itself  always  the  same.  It  is  obvious,  however, 
that  this  propensity  may  be  accompanied  by  other  sentiments, 
especially  by  attachment.  The  bull  is  sometimes  particularly 
attached  to  one  amongst  a  herd  of  cows;  and  I  have  seen 
Canary  birds  which  would  not  mate  with  certain  individuals. 
Though  separated,  they  still  remained  attached  to  their 
former  partners.  Moreover,  if  the  organ  of  amativeness  be 
singly  active  in  man,  it  is  always  without  morality;  in  some 
hydrocephalic  persons  and  idiots  from  birth,  physical  love 
resembles  that  of  animals  entirely.  Hence,  whatever  is  moral 
in  amativeness  depends  on  other  faculties  which  accompany 
it;  it  is  also  observed  that  man  and  animals  modify  the 
manifestations  of  the  propensity,  in  proportion  as  they  are 
endowed  with  other  dispositions.  If  a  man  or  an  animal  be 
prone  to  attachment  and  physical  love  at  the  same  time,  these 
faculties  will  act  conjointly;  physical  love  will  be  modified 
by  attachment,  and  attachment  by  physical  love. 

Platonic  love,  it  is  replied,  ordinarily  finishes  in  physical 
love.    I  agree  with  this ;  but  can  we  therefore  conclude  that 


188 


PHRENOLOGY 


platonic  is  the  same  as  physical  love?  I  am  not  hungry 
because  I  have  taste  or  smell;  but  if  the  sense  of  smell  be 
stimulated  by  any  savory  odor,  and  that  of  taste  and  the 
feeling  of  hunger  be  thereby  excited,  and  notwithstanding 
my  first  intention  not  to  eat,  will  it  be  maintained  that  smell 
and  the  desire  to  eat  are  the  same  ?  If  we  examine  platonic 
or  moral  love,  we  find  that  all  the  sentiments  which  are  felt 
at  the  same  time  with  the  propensity  to  physical  love,  may  be 
attributed  to  other  special  faculties  and  their  respective 
organs.  In  the  same  manner  it  seems  to  me  impossible  to 
confound  the  instinct  of  physical  height  with  the  sentiment 
of  self-love  and  pride:  I  believe  it  possible  to  have  a  great 
opinion  of  one's  self  in  all  regions,  and  in  all  countries. 

Gall  adds  that  mountaineers  are  proud,  and  particularly 
attached  to  their  independence  and  moral  liberty.  Being 
attached  to  mountains  does  not  exclude  self-esteem  and 
firmness,  which  lead  to  independency.  Moreover,  I  do  not 
think  that  the  inhabitants  of  Switzerland  have  more  natural 
pride  than  the  Hungarians.  The  former,  however,  struggled 
for  independence,  while  the  latter  could  not  endure  the  civil 
liberties  which  the  Emperor  Joseph  the  Second  allowed 
them.  The  Spaniards  are  notoriously  proud,  but  show  little 
inclination  to  be  free. 

Gall  quotes  several  examples  of  proud  persons  being  par- 
ticularly fond  of  climbing  upon  mountains,  and  to  great 
elevations.  My  experience  has  shown  me  both  proud  and 
humble  persons,  who  felt  a  peculiar  pleasure  in  going  upon 
towers  and  other  elevated  places ;  but  they  did  so  to  see  the 
scenery  of  the  surrounding  country.  This  inclination  then 
belongs  to  the  organ  of  locality,  as  I  shall  afterwards  explain. 

Finally,  Gall  particularly  insists  on  those  natural  expres- 
sions, or  actions,  by  which  the  sentiment  of  pride  is  mani- 
fested. Proud  children,  says  he,  mount  upon  chairs,  in  order 
to  be  on  a  level  with  grown-up  persons ;  and  adults,  of  small 
stature,  often  do  the  same  to  gratify  their  self-love;  proud 
persons  keep  their  body  erect,  and  have  a  haughty  gait.  In 
general,  all  expressions,  of  pride  and  superiority  are  combined 
with  physical  elevation:  thus,  kings  and  emperors  sit  upon 
elevated  thrones ;  they  receive  their  power  from  above,  &;c.  &c. 


ORGAN  OF  INHABITIVENESS 


189 


All  external  manifestations  of  proud  persons  may  be  ex- 
plained upon  the  pathognomonical  principle  of  the  motion  of 
the  body  in  general,  and  the  motions  of  the  head  in  particular, 
being  in  the  direction  of  the  organ  which  is  active.  Il^ow  the 
organ  of  pride  is  situated  upwards  and  backwards,  and  all 
the  motions  of  pride  are  in  these  directions. 

Thus,  I  separate  the  instinct  which  carries  animals  to 
physical  elevation,  from  the  sentiment  which  produces  self- 
love  and  pride ;  and  I  consider  the  first  as  a  modification  of 
the  feeling  which  determines  the  dwelling-places  of  animals. 

The  cerebral  part  above  the  organ  of  philoprogenitiveness 
in  man,  is  more  or  less  developed,  independently  of  the 
neighboring  parts,  and  must  be  considered  as  endowed  with 
some  peculiar  function.  On  the  other  hand,  the  instinct  of 
animals  to  choose  a  peculiar  dwelling-place  is  special,  in  no 
proportion  to  any  other  instinct,  hence,  it  must  be  attached 
to  a  particular  organ.  This  being  modified,  its  modified 
functions  are  explained  in  the  same  way  as  those  of  the  senses 
of  taste  and  smell  in  herbivorous  and  carnivorous  animals; 
the  organ,  however,  cannot  be  pointed  out  by  comparing 
animals  which  live  in  different  elements;  our  observations 
must  be  confined  to  such  as  inhabit  the  same  element  or  the 
same  country,  and  chiefly  to  individuals  remarkable  for  a 
higher  degree  of  the  peculiar  dispositions.  This  propensity 
being  common  to  many  animals,  its  organ  must  be  deeply 
seated  in  the  brain,  and  must  be  looked  for  in  the  region  of 
the  other  propensities.  I  consider  in  animals  the  cerebral 
part  immediately  above  the  organ  of  philoprogenitiveness, 
as  the  organ  of  the  instinct  that  prompts  them  to  select  a 
peculiar  dwelling,  and  call  it  the  organ  of  inhabitiveness. 
It  is  known  that  cats  are  more  attached  to  places,  and  dogs 
to  persons.  The  former  remain  in  the  house  which  is  sold, 
while  the  latter  follows  his  master.  My  attention  has  been, 
and  is  still  directed  to  such  individuals  of  the  human  kind, 
as  show  a  particular  disposition  in  regard  to  their  dwelling- 
place.  I  have  many  facts  in  confirmation.  I  saw  a  clergy- 
man in  Manchester,  known  to  his  friends  as  particularly 
attached  to  his  dwelling-place,  so  that  he  should  be  unhappy 


190 


PHRENOLOGY 


if  obliged  to  sleep  elsewhere.  I  examined  his  head  in  com- 
pany of  several  gentlemen,  some  of  whom  were  opponents, 
but  every  one  v/as  obliged  to  admit  that  the  spot  of  the  head 
where  'No.  V.  is  situated,  was  warmer  than  the  rest  of  the 
head.  I  merely  asked  what  part  was  the  warmest,  and  all 
agreed  at  the  same  place.  Some  nations  are  extremely  at- 
tached to  their  country,  while  others  are  readily  induced  to 
migrate.  Some  tribes  of  the  American  Indians  and  Tartars, 
wander  about  without  fixed  habitations,  while  other  savages 
have  a  settled  home.  Mountaineers  are  commonly  much 
attached  to  their  native  soil,  and  those  of  them  who  visit 
capitals  or  foreign  countries,  seem  chiefly  led  by  the  hope  of 
gaining  money  enough  to  return  home  and  buy  a  little 
property,  even  though  the  land  should  be  dearer  there  than 
elsewhere.  I  therefore  invite  the  phrenologists  who  have 
an  opportunity  of  visiting  various  nations  particularly  fond 
of  their  country,  to  examine  the  developement  of  the  organ 
marked  No.  V.,  and  situated  immediately  above  philopro- 
genitiveness. 

Some  persons  think  that  inhabitiveness  may  give  the 
delight  to  see  foreign  countries,  and  to  travel,  but  it  is  quite 
the  reverse;  the  former  delight  depends  on  locality.  Those 
who  have  inhabitiveness  large  and  locality  small,  do  not  like 
to  leave  home;  those  who  have  both  organs  large,  like  to 
travel,  but  to  return  home,  and  to  settle  at  last. 

In  all  civilized  nations,  some  individuals  have  a  great 
predilection  for  residing  in  the  country.  If  professional 
pursuits  oblige  them  to  live  in  town,  their  endeavor  is  to 
collect  a  fortune  as  speedily  as  possible,  that  they  may 
indulge  their  leading  propensity.  I  have  examined  the 
heads  of  several  individuals  of  this  description,  and  found 
the  parts  in  question  much  developed. 

A  friend  of  mine,  M.  de  Tremmon,  of  Paris,  suggested  the 
idea  to  look  for  an  organ  of  which  agriculture  is  a  result, 
since  there  are  organs  which  dispose  man  to  hunt,  to  build, 
to  collect  food,  and  to  cultivate  arts  and  sciences.  This 
remark  is  undoubtedly  philosophical,  since  nature  attaches 
pleasure  to  every  occupation  on  which  the  preservation  of 


ORGAN  OF  COMBATIVENESS 


191 


the  species  depends.  I^ow,  agriculture  contributes  greatly 
to  the  general  welfare,  and  it  is  not  probable  that  nature 
was  negligent  in  this  point.  Hence,  I  have  also  examined 
the  organ  marked  ISTo.  V.,  in  relation  to  this  peculiar  dis- 
position, and  have  found  it  large  in  several  who  are  fond 
of  living  in  the  country,  and  of  agricultural  pursuits.  I 
mention  these  ideas  only  to  excite  investigation,  not  by  any 
means  as  being  certain  and  established.  Once  confirmed, 
inhahitiveness  will  be  considered  as  presenting  modifications 
in  the  same  way  as  every  other  special  power  does. 

VI.    Organ  of  Comhativeness. 

The  disposition  to  quarrel  and  fight  is  unfortunately  but 
too  apparent  in  the  world.  Gall,  to  discover  the  cause,  called 
together  boys  from  the  streets,  coach-drivers,  servants,  &c. 
and  made  them  fight.  There  were  some  who  were  quarrel- 
some and  fond  of  fighting,  and  others  who  were  peaceable 
and  timid.  In  those  who  came  willingly  to  blows,  that  part 
of  the  head  which  corresponds  to  the  posterior  inferior  angle 
of  the  parietal  bone  above  the  mastoid  process,  was  promi- 
nent; (PI.  V.  fig.  1.  VI.)  in  those  who  declined  the  combat 
the  same  place  was  flat  and  depressed.  (PI.  V.  fig.  2.  VI.) 
Similar  configurations  were  found  in  the  heads  of  brave  and 
valiant  officers,  of  quarrelsome  students,  of  duellists,  of  those 
whose  greatest  pleasure  consisted  in  fighting  and  making 
themselves  feared;  and  of  the  inoffensive  and  peacefully 
disposed.  This  organ  is  generally  more  developed  in  men 
and  males  than  in  women  and  females,  though  there  are 
several  examples  on  record  of  women,  even  delicate  ladies, 
who  followed  the  war.  Moreover,  the  propensity  to  fight  is 
stronger  in  some  nations  than  in  others,  and  is  sometimes 
very  active  in  lunatics.  Hence  it  must  be  considered  as 
fundamental. 

Gall  at  first  named  ^  organ  of  courage  '  the  part  in  the 
situation  indicated.  Considering,  however,  that  it  is  possible 
for  a  man  to  be  courageous  in  various  ways,  to  have  courage 
to  do  any  thing  of  which  he  thinks  himself  capable,  to  play 
on  an  instrument  or  sing  before  company,  though  he  may 


192 


PHRENOLOGY 


have  no  propensity  to  fight,  he  changed  this  name  for  that  of 
quarrelsomeness,  and  then  for  that  of  self-defence,  which 
last  he  retains.  These  modified  applications  are  easily  ex- 
plained by  the  combination  of  the  propensity  in  point  with 
other  feelings.  I,  however,  do  not  think  that  this  propensity 
is  given  merely  for  self-defence,  many  other  propensities 
requiring  its  assistance  in  the  natural  order  of  things. 

The  propensity  to  fight  is  active  in  different  degrees,  not 
only  in  man,  but  also  among  the  various  species  of  animals ; 
some  never  fight,  others  are  fond  of  fighting.  Even  indi- 
viduals of  the  same  kind  differ  in  their  manifestations  of 
this  disposition.  One  dog  incessantly  looks  for  an  oppor- 
tunity to  give  battle,  and  never  shrinks  from  an  opponent; 
another  passes  peaceably  along  and  flies  on  the  approach  of 
an  adversary. 

The  heads  of  courageous  animals,  between  and  behind  the 
ears,  are  wide,  (PL  VII.  fig.  1.  and  3.  VI.)  those  of  timid 
and  shy  ones,  on  the  contrary,  are  narrow  at  the  same  spot. 
(PI.  VII.  fig.  2.  and  4.  VI.)  The  different  organization  of 
game  and  dunghill  fowls  is  very  marked  in  the  situation 
indicated.  Horse  jockies,  and  those  who  are  fond  of  fighting 
cocks,  have  long  been  familiar  with  the  fact. 

An  animal  may  evince  an  unwillingness  to  approach  a 
place  or  object,  which  he  associates  with  some  former  suffer- 
ing. Imperfect  vision  is  another  cause  of  shyness.  A  horse 
whose  sight  is  defective,  is  apt  to  mistake  one  object  for 
another,  and  may  not  be  able  to  make  the  distinction  until 
he  has  approached  very  close  to  the  object,  or  he  has  put  his 
nose  to  it;  either  the  object  really  is  or  he  fancies  it  is  strange 
to  him,  he  is  afraid  of  it,  and  consequently  shuns  it;  many 
horses  too  grow  shy  as  they  grow  old.  Moreover,  violence 
and  punishment  are  not  the  most  suitable  means  to  impel  an 
animal  to  do  that  which  he  is  unwilling  to  do,  whilst  lenient 
usage  and  coaxing  is  more  likely  to  succeed.  Yet  there  is  an 
innate  feeling  of  courage,  which  must  not  be  overlooked. 

It  is  said  that  the  propensity  to  fight  results  from  bodily 
strength.  There  are,  however,  several  species  which  though 
weak  are  fond  of  fighting,  while  others,  though  large  and 


ORGAN  OF  COMBATIVENESS 


193 


strong,  avoid  it.  We  may  find  striking  examples  of  this 
among  dogs.  The  fighting  cock  is  also  smaller  than  the 
dnnghill  bird,  and  hares  are  stronger  than  rabbits,  yet  less 
courageous.  Some  men,  and  even  women,  though  very  weak 
and  delicate,  are  nevertheless  intrepid  and  courageous,  while 
tall  and  robust  individuals  are  oftentimes  cowardly  and 
complying. 

Physical  courage  and  the  capacity  to  meet  and  to  repel 
attack  is  necessary  to  animals  as  soon  as  they  are  attached 
to  females,  to  progeny,  to  dwellings  or  to  friends ;  for,  accord- 
ing to  the  arrangement  of  nature,  it  is  necessary  to  fight  in 
order  to  defend.  Such  a  propensity  must  therefore  exist  for 
purposes  of  defence;  but  it  seems  to  me  that  it  is,  like  all 
others,  of  general  application,  and  not  limited  to  self-defence  ; 
I,  therefore,  call  the  cerebral  part  in  which  it  inheres,  the 
organ  of  the  propensity  to  fight,  or  of  combativeness.  Some- 
times it  acts  with  greater  energy  than  is  proper,  is  delighted 
with  combats,  and  then  produces  disputes,  quarrelsomeness 
and  attack,  which  are  abuses.  It  is  useful  to  all  great  char- 
acters, to  religious  and  civil  reformers.  Luther  and  Knox, 
I  am  sure,  possessed  it  in  a  great  degree. 

The  ancient  artists  seem  to  have  known  the  configuration 
indicative  of  a  high  degree  of  this  propensity;  for  they  have 
given  it  to  the  heads  of  their  gladiators  and  wrestlers. 

It  may  be  asked,  if  the  absence  or  inactivity  of  this  organ 
produces  fear?  Gall  thinks  it  does,  but  it  appears  to  me 
that  the  absence  of  no  organ  can  originate  a  positive  sentiment 
such  as  fear.  It  is  certainly  conceivable  that  the  absence  of 
an  organ  may  produce  modifications  in  the  manner  of  think- 
ing and  feeling;  that  the  absence  of  this,  for  instance,  may 
render  a  character  peacefully  disposed,  but  I  think  that  a 
positive  action  can  alone  produce  fear.  It  seems  to  me  that 
Gall  generally  erred  when  he  spoke  of  negative  qualities.  If 
fear  did  result  from  the  absence  of  courage,  how  should  it  be 
possible  to  be  at  the  same  time  courageous  and  fearful.  Yet 
this  happens  among  animals  and  mankind.  In  my  opinion 
the  sensations  of  fear  and  anxiety,  are  ascribable  to  the  organ 
of  cautiousness. 

13 


194 


PHRENOLOGY 


VII.    Organ  of  the  Propensity  to  Conceal,  (Secretiveness.) 

Cunning  is  so  active  amongst  mankind,  that  Gall  soon 
conceived  the  idea  of  looking  for  its  organ  in  the  brain,  and 
observation  very  soon  led  him  to  its  seat.  He  complained, 
hov^ever,  of  not  being  able  to  determine  the  sphere  of  its 
activity.  He  ascribes  to  the  same  organ,  cunning,  pmdence, 
the  savoir  faire,  the  capacity  of  finding  means  necessary  to 
insure  secrecy,  hypocrisy,  lying,  intrigue,  dissimulation, 
duplicity  and  falsehood.  In  poets,  the  talent  of  inventing, 
or  conceiving  interesting  plots,  for  romances  and  dramatic 
pieces ;  and  finally,  he  attributes  to  it  slyness  in  animals.  In 
all  individuals  remarkable  for  such  actions,  a  considerable  or 
large  developement  of  the  organ,  situated  in  the  middle  of 
the  line  of  the  head,  above  the  organ  of  destructiveness,  is  to 
be  observed.     {PI.  VI.  fig.  1.  and  2.  VII.) 

What  then  is  the  fundamental  power  of  this  organ  ?  Gall 
first  observed  it  in  cunning  persons,  particularly  in  one  who 
was  deeply  involved  in  debt,  but  who  had  the  address  to 
conceal  his  real  situation  from  all  his  creditors,  and  cheated 
all  his  acquaintances,  and  even  his  mother,  of  considerable 
sums  of  money.  He  died  of  phthisis,  and  Gall  got  his  head, 
which  is  very  large  in  the  midst  of  the  lateral  regions.  Cun- 
ning being  an  obvious  ingredient,  in  many  appearances  of 
social  life,  Gall  considered  it  as  fundamental,  and  continued 
to  do  so.  I  grant  that  this  power  too  often  acts  as  cunning, 
but  I  do  not  think  that  this  name  indicates  the  special  pro- 
pensity itself.  This  was  to  be  determined  without  consider- 
ing the  objects  upon  which,  and  the  manner  in  which,  it  acts ; 
and  in  considering  the  proceeding  of  sly  animals  and  cunning 
men,  and  all  the  functions  depending  on  this  power,  I 
conceived  it  to  be  the  propensity  to  conceal,  to  be  secret  in 
thoughts,  words,  things  or  projects. 

This  instinctive  tendency  seems  to  be  active  throughout  the 
animal  kingdom,  and  concealment  is  necessary  in  many  cases 
where  strength  is  wanting,  either  in  behalf  of  defence  or 
attack.  Sly  animals,  if  pursued,  hide  themselves  dex- 
terously.   The  fox,  in  approaching  the  poultry,  is  careful  not 


ORGAN  OF  SECRETIVENESS 


195 


to  be  observed;  a  cat  watching  a  mouse  moves  no  limb;  a 
dog  secretes  bis  bone;  children  play  hide  and  seek;  prudent 
or  cunning  persons  conceal  their  intentions,  and  sometimes 
profess  opinions  opposite  to  those  they  really  entertain. 
Some  are  particularly  delighted  in  knowing  secrets,  or  in 
making  a  secret  of  things  publicly  known. 

The  uses  and  abuses  of  this  faculty  are  various,  but  con- 
cealment is  the  essence  of  all  its  manifestations.  Every 
stratagem  in  war,  and  every  kind  of  deception,  results  from  it. 

There  is  no  great  politician,  and  no  great  commander, 
without  large  secretiveness.  Those  in  whom  it  is  deficient, 
are  not  attentive  enough  to  circumstances,  time  and  place, 
they  commonly  are  deficient  in  tact,  and  follow  their 
instantaneous  emotions. 

Secrecy,  hitherto,  was  a  large  play-ground  for  civil  and 
religious  governments,  but  it  is  a  pleasant  feeling  for  phi- 
lanthropists to  think,  that  the  liberty  of  parliamentary 
transactions,  and  of  the  press,  detects  the  tortuous  ways  and 
selfish  views  of  deceitful  governors,  and  that  honesty  will 
become  the  best  policy  in  state  concerns  and  court  affairs, 
as  it  is  in  social  intercourse. 

Persons  in  whom  secretiveness  predominates,  judging 
others  by  themselves,  never  see  the  conduct  of  others  in  a 
plain  and  simple  point  of  view,  but  conceive  that  every  one 
endeavors  to  deceive  his  neighbor.  They  try  to  attain  all 
their  purposes  by  indirect  means.  Some  of  them  are  de- 
lighted in  the  most  trifling  mysteries,  in  concealing  all  their 
transactions.  'No  one  shall  know  when  they  go  out  or  when 
they  go  in.  Many  insane  are  cunning  in  concealing  their 
state  of  mind.  One  in  Bedlam,  at  London,  constantly  tries 
to  conceal  himself  in  his  bed  or  in  any  comer  of  a  room  he 
is  in. 

^  How  polite/  says  Mr.  Combe,  (System  of  Phren.  p.  146,) 
'  acquiescent  and  deferential  are  some  persons  in  their  man- 
ners to  all  who  are  present,  and  how  severe  in  their  vitupera- 
tions when  the  same  individuals  are  gone.  This  conduct 
results  from  secretiveness  addressing  itself  to  the  love  of 
approbation  in  others,  and  endeavoring  to  please  them  by  the 


196 


PHRENOLOGY 


profession  of  feigned  respect.'  I  add,  that  in  such  conduct 
the  inactivity  of  conscientiousness  is  not  to  be  overlooked. 

Mr.  William  Scott,  of  Edinburgh,  thinks  that  secretiveness 
is  essential  to  actors  and  all  great  artists,  and  ^  that  it  confers 
the  positive  power  of  calling  up  at  will  the  natural  language 
of  such  faculties  as  they  wish  to  exhibit  for  the  time : ' 
Mr.  Combe  objects  to  this  view.  I  am  also  of  opinion  that 
secretiveness  is  necessary  to  artists,  only  as  far  as  they  wish 
to  express  or  represent  manifestations  of  that  kind.  The 
same  principle  holds  good  with  secretiveness  as  with  self- 
esteem,  cautiousness,  benevolence,  or  any  other  feeling.  The 
actor,  painter,  or  sculptor,  will  succeed  better  in  the  expres- 
sions of  those  feelings  he  possesses.  The  one  for  instance 
will  play  lago  in  an  original  and  masterly  way,  without  the 
natural  disposition  of  secretiveness,  but  an  actor  might 
succeed  in  performing  the  part  of  a  noble,  candid,  and 
benevolent  character,  without  secretiveness.  Da  Vinci  could 
without  secretiveness  compose  the  Lord's  Supper,  the 
character  and  expression  of  Judas  excepted. 

Good  humor  in  playing  tricks,  or  in  detecting  concealed 
purposes,  and  every  kind  of  disguise,  depend  on  secretiveness, 
but  the  ludicrousness  of  such  actions,  or  the  tendency  to  show 
humor,  results  from  the  feeling  of  mirthfulness. 

Secretiveness  is  frequently  combined  with  acquisitiveness, 
and  acts  as  cunning  in  thieves  and  other  criminals.  It 
prompts  them  to  think  that  they  can  conceal  their  deeds.  It 
is  large  in  beggars  who  deceive  pious  and  charitable  persons 
by  feigned  complaints. 

This  propensity  is  very  active  in  mankind,  and  its  organ 
commonly  large. 

VIII.    Organ  of  the  Propensity  to  Acquire,  ar  of 
Acquisitiveness. 

It  is  a  fact  that  many  individuals  have  a  particular 
propensity  to  steal.  History  informs  us  that  Victor  Amadeus 
I.  king  of  Sardinia  was,  upon  all  occasions,  in  the  habit  of 
pilfering  objects  of  little  value.    I  have  the  history  of  a 


ORGAN  OF  ACQUISITIVENESS 


197 


well-bred  individual,  who,  from  infancy,  was  given  to  thiev- 
ing. He  entered  the  military  service,  hoping  that  the  severity 
of  its  discipline  might  prevent  him  from  indulging  his 
propensity.  However,  as  he  continued  to  steal,  he  narrowly 
escaped  hanging.  Still  struggling  against  and  anxious  to 
overcome  his  inclination,  he  studied  theology,  and  became  a 
capuchin.  But  the  disposition  followed  him  into  the  con- 
vent, and  he  could  not  resist  gratifying  it  by  stealing  such 
articles  as  candlesticks,  snuffers,  scissors,  drinking  cups  and 
glasses ;  but  he  did  not  conceal  his  stolen  goods ;  he  said  that 
he  had  taken  them  away,  that  the  owner  might  have  the  trouble 
of  carrying  them  home  again.  There  was  a  person  employed 
by  the  government  of  Austria,  settled  at  Presburgh,  who 
filled  two  rooms  with  stolen  articles,  of  which  he  never  dared 
to  make  any  use.  The  wife  of  Gaubius,  the  famous  physician 
at  Leyden,  felt  such  a  strong  propensity  to  steal,  that  she 
always  endeavored  to  take  something  away  from  the  shops  in 
which  she  made  purchases.  Her  husband  ordered  a  servant 
to  follow  her,  to  prevent,  or  at  least  to  compensate,  her  thefts. 
The  countess  M*^*,  at  Wesel,  and  J***^  at  Frankfort,  mani- 
fested a  similar  thievish  disposition.  Madame  de  ^sT"^"^* 
had  been  educated  with  great  care,  her  understanding  and 
talents  entitled  her  to  a  distinguished  place  in  society,  but 
all  would  not  secure  her  against  an  overwhelming  propensity 
to  steal.  Lavater  speaks  of  a  physician,  who  never  left  the 
rooms  of  his  patients  without  putting  something  into  his 
pocket,  as  keys,  scissors,  knives,  spoons,  thimbles,  buckles, 
&c.  but  who  sent  them  back  again  to  their  owners.  Moritz, 
in  his  Treatise  on  the  Human  Mind,  details  the  history  of  a 
certain  thief,  whose  propensity  to  steal  was  so  energetic,  that 
even  when  dying  he  stretched  out  his  hand  with  the  intention 
of  stealing  his  confessor's  snuff-box.  Dr.  Benard,  physician 
to  the  king  of  Bavaria,  related  to  us  the  history  of  an  Al- 
satian, who  was  rich  and  not  at  all  avaricious,  but  who  had 
a  great  propensity  to  steal.  He  had  been  educated  with 
much  care,  and  sometimes  severely  punished  on  account  of 
his  unhappy  disposition ;  his  father  made  him  a  soldier,  and 
as  he  continued  to  rob  in  the  army,  he  was  hanged.    We  have 


198 


PHRENOLOGY 


the  history  of  a  very  learned  man's  son,  who  excelled  his 
comrades  at  school,  but  who  from  his  earliest  infancy  robbed 
his  parents  and  all  those  around  him.  Every  kind  of  correc- 
tion was  useless;  the  military  service  was  tried,  but  though 
he  several  times  suffered  severe  punishment,  nothing  could 
restrain  his  propensity  to  steal.  The  chaplain  of  a  regiment 
in  Prussia,  a  man  of  great  intelligence  and  ability,  could  not 
help  stealing  from  the  officers.  The  commander  esteemed 
him  much,  but  as  soon  as  the  chaplain  made  his  appearance, 
desks,  presses,  and  cupboards  were  shut  up,  for  nothing  on 
which  he  could  lay  his  hands  was  safe :  he  seemed  almost  to 
act  without  a  motive,  for  he  restored,  with  pleasure,  the  things 
he  had  stolen.  At  Copenhagen  Gall  and  I  saw  an  incorrigible 
thief  in  prison,  who  sometimes  distributed  what  he  had  filched 
among  the  poor.  There  was  another  who  had  been  shut  up 
for  the  seventh  time;  he  observed  that  it  seemed  impossible 
to  alter  his  behavior;  and  therefore  begged  earnestly  to  be 
kept  in  prison,  and  provided  with  the  means  of  earning  a 
livelihood.  A  young  Calmuck,  brought  to  Vienna  by  Count 
Stahrenberg,  Ambassador  of  Austria  at  the  Court  of  St. 
Petersburgh,  became  melancholic,  and  fell  into  a  nostalgia, 
because  his  confessor,  who  instructed  him  in  religion  and 
morality,  forbade  him  to  steal.  The  confessor,  a  man  of 
understanding,  discovered  the  cause  of  his  disease,  and  gave 
him  permission  to  steal,  on  condition  that  he  would  give  back 
the  articles  he  pilfered.  The  young  Calmuck  profited  by 
this  license,  and  having  stolen  his  confessor's  watch  during 
the  consecration  of  the  mass,  he,  leaping  with  joy,  restored  it 
after  the  service  was  over. 

Moreover,  the  propensity  to  steal  is  proved  by  the  state 
of  disease.  We  know  several  cases  in  which  women  felt  it 
in  a  high  degree  only  during  pregnancy;  and  certain  indi- 
viduals manifest  it  only  when  alienated.  Hence  it  is  obvious 
that  this  propensity  must  be  innate. 

We  might  multiply  examples  of  this  kind  almost  to  in- 
finity; they  prove  that  the  inclination  to  steal  is  not  always 
the  effect  of  bad  education,  of  poverty,  idleness,  or  of  the 
want  of  religious  and  moral  sentiments.    This  truth  is  so 


ORGAN  OF  ACQUISITIVENESS 


199 


generally  felt  that  every  one  winks  at  a  little  theft  committed 
by  rich  persons,  who  in  other  respects  conduct  themselves 
well.  These  thefts  are  said  to  be  the  consequences  of  mental 
abstraction. 

Gall  in  assembling  boys,  coach-drivers  and  persons  of  the 
common  classes,  and  inquiring  into  their  characters,  learned 
that  some  had  a  peculiar  tendency  to  pilfer,  and  that  others 
show^ed  a  horror  of  theft,  and  he  was  obliged  to  think,  as  to 
the  cause,  of  an  original  difference  of  mental  constitution. 
Being  physician  to  the  Deaf  and  Dumb  Institution,  he  had 
it  in  his  power  to  make  observations  on  the  primitive  con- 
dition of  those  children  who  were  received  without  any 
previous  education.  Some  of  them  were  remarkable  for  a 
decided  propensity  for  stealing,  whilst  others  did  not  show 
the  least  inclination  to  it.  Some  of  them  were  easily  re- 
formed, but  others  were  quite  incorrigible.  The  severest 
punishments  were  inflicted  upon  one  without  any  effect.  On 
examining  the  heads  of  all  these  boys,  Gall  found  the  region 
anterior  to  the  organ  of  secretiveness  uniformly  developed  in 
relation  to  the  propensity  to  steal.  During  our  travels,  we 
have  examined  the  heads  of  a  very  great  number  of  thieves ; 
and  it  is  unquestionable,  that  those  who  have  a  great  propen- 
sity to  steal,  have  a  particular  part  of  the  brain  greatly 
developed. 

However,  to  consider  stealing  a  natural  propensity,  is  so 
contradictory  to  common  opinion,  that  the  idea  has  excited 
much  opposition.  On  the  other  hand  not  every  one  who  has 
this  organ  large  is  a  thief,  though  according  to  Christian 
morality  many  are  thieves,  who  according  to  the  civil  laws 
enjoy  distinction  in  society.  Let  us,  however,  examine  each 
objection.  It  has  been  said  that  stealing  supposes  the  pre- 
existence  of  property,  and  that,  as  property  is  the  result  of 
social  convention,  stealing  cannot  be  owing  to  any  natural 
propensity;  consequently,  that  it  is  absurd  to  admit  an  organ 
of  theft.  In  this  objection  there  are  two  things  to  be 
considered ;  and  first,  whether  property  itself  be  not  grounded 
upon  some  natural  and  particular  instinct  ?  In  my  work  on 
the  philosophical  principles,  where  I  treat  of  the  innateness 


200 


PHRENOLOGY 


of  the  faculties,  I  show  that  many  actions  which  are  con- 
sidered as  the  effect  of  society,  or  as  factitious,  result  from 
particular  innate  faculties.  We  have  already  seen  that 
society  itself  is  the  consequence  of  a  particular  propensity, 
with  which  all  other  faculties  in  their  manifestations  are 
necessarily  combined.  It  is  also  easy  to  demonstrate,  that 
the  sentiment  of  property  is  natural  and  not  factitious ;  even 
animals  possess  it:  birds  have  their  own  nests,  quadrupeds 
their  burrows,  and  all  defend  their  habitations  against  foreign 
aggression.  Tame  animals  have  also  their  stalls  in  the 
stable,  and  on  entering  every  one  takes  its  own.  ISTight- 
ingales,  red-breasts,  &c.  have  their  districts,  and  drive  away 
all  others  of  their  kind,  even  their  young,  when  they  are 
grown  up.  The  constancy  of  storks  and  swallows  to  those 
nesting-places  of  which  they  have  once  taken  possession  is 
well  known.  Bees  and  many  insects  fight  even  till  death  in 
defence  of  their  hives  or  nests  against  intruders.  Every  one 
is  aware  that  a  dog  defends  his  bone  more  courageously  in 
his  master's  than  in  a  stranger's  house.  Sportsmen  and  game- 
keepers observe,  that  of  some  species  of  animals  a  certain 
number  only  inhabit  the  same  district,  and  do  not  permit 
others  of  their  kind  to  approach  or  take  possession  of  their 
territories.  Each  herd  of  chamois  drives  away  all  others 
from  the  tract  it  occupies.  Man  does  the  same.  Suppose 
two  persons  living  together  in  a  state  of  nature,  as  it  is  called ; 
if  the  one  gather  fruit,  and  the  other  endeavor  to  eat  it, 
will  not  the  gatherer  feel  that  the  fruit  is  his  peculiar  prop- 
erty ?  Examples  might  be  greatly  multiplied  in  illustration ; 
those  already  cited  prove  clearly  that  the  propensity  to 
appropriate  or  the  feeling  of  property  is  natural  to  animals 
and  man,  and  anterior  to  and  independent  of  legislation.  In 
animals  this  sentiment  submits  only  to  force,  but  man,  sus- 
ceptible of  moral  feelings  and  obedient  to  justice,  determines 
the  conditions  under  which  objects  become  property.  The 
sentiment,  therefore,  must  have  preceded  and  produced  laws 
of  property.  Laws  of  themselves  cannot  give  birth  to  any 
feeling. 


ORGAN  OF  ACQUISITIVENESS 


301 


^^'ow  we  may  inquire^  whether  stealing  is  natural;  and  if 
so,  the  effect  of  a  special  propensity?  To  answer  in  the 
affirmative  is  both  irrational  and  dangerous:  irrational  be- 
cause the  Creator  could  not  bestow  any  faculty  absolutely 
hurtful  on  man;  dangerous,  because  it  would  apologize  for 
acts  punished  as  crimes  by  the  law.  To  this  objection  Gall 
used  to  answer:  ^sTo  one  can  deny  that  theft  occurs  in  the 
world;  and  as  it  exists,  it  was  not  against  the  will  of  the 
Creator ;  the  propensity  to  steal  is  also  more  or  less  energetic, 
and  there  are  very  few  who  have  never  stolen  any  thing; 
finally,  the  organ  is  very  considerable  in  inveterate  thieves. 

It  is  however  impossible  to  think  that  God  has  created  any 
faculty  purely  injurious  to  mankind,  which  would  be  the 
conclusion,  were  there  an  organ  whose  sole  function  was  theft. 
On  the  other  hand,  it  is  certain  that  there  is  no  action  without 
a  faculty,  and  no  manifestation  of  a  faculty  without  organiza- 
tion. Theft,  therefore,  must  depend  up/on  a  certain  faculty, 
and  this  must  be  manifested  by  means  of  an  organ ;  but  theft, 
being  injurious,  can  only  be  an  abuse  of  that  faculty.  This 
point  may  be  made  clearer  by  analogical  reasoning.  Glut- 
tony and  drunkenness  are  effects  of  a  certain  power,  but  there 
is  no  faculty  solely  destined  to  these  actions :  they  are  abuses 
of  the  special  propensity  to  feed.  Adultery  and  incest  are 
not  peculiar  faculties,  they  are  abuses  of  the  amative  propen- 
sity. Quarrelsomeness  is  likewise  an  abuse  of  the  propensity 
to  fight.  Moreover  the  organ  under  consideration  cannot  be 
that  of  theft,  because  various  persons  who  have  it  much 
developed  never  steal;  they  cannot,  however,  be  destitute  of 
that  which  is  its  fundamental  function.  To  this  Gall  replies, 
that  he  cannot  determine  whether  any  person  he  meets  in 
society,  with  this  organ  large,  has  stolen  or  not,  that  he  knows 
only  the  disposition.  This  answer  does  not,  however,  remove 
the  force  of  the  objection ;  the  faculty  would  still  be  the  same, 
viz.  the  disposition  to  steal.  Hence  let  us  examine  into  the 
nature  of  the  propensity  which  produces  theft. 

Gall  at  last  called  the  organ,  that  of  property.  But  some 
thieves  steal  without  intending  to  retain  the  article,  and  both 
men  and  animals  occasionally  filch  things  entirely  useless 


202 


PHRENOLOGY 


to  them:  magpies  and  ravens,  for  instance,  carry  away 
money,  spoons,  stones,  and  similar  things,  of  which  they 
can  make  no  use :  certain  thieves  also  restore,  or  suffer  to  be 
restored,  whatever  they  have  taken  away.  Consequently,  the 
faculty  which  steals  is  not  essentially  that  which  keeps 
possession;  it  precedes  this,  and  is  rather  the  propensity  to 
take  possession.  The  name  possession,  therefore,  does  not 
characterize  the  special  faculty.  Yet  this  faculty  prompts 
to  say  '  mine.' 

From  all  I  have  observed  in  animals  and  man  relative  to 
the  functions  of  this  faculty,  it  seems  to  me  that  its  essence 
is  a  propensity  to  acquire,  without  determining  either  the 
object  or  manner  of  acquiring,  and  a  desire  for  hoarding  up 
and  collecting:  it  also  produces  selfishness,  for  those  largely 
endowed  with  it  never  forget  themselves,  and  in  everything 
look  for  its  usefulness;  the  objects  they  desire,  however,  and 
the  means  they  take  to  acquire,  whether  gaming,  trade,  in- 
dustry, or  theft,  result  from  the  influence  of  all  the  other 
faculties.  In  ancient  times  the  statistical  knowledge  was 
confined  to  that  of  battles  and  victories,  to  the  number  of 
captives  and  to  booty.  I^ow-a-days  industry  replaces  war. 
Watt  was  a  conqueror  of  a  different  kind  from  the  ancient 
heroes,  and  his  discoveries  and  inventions  prodigiously  favor 
acquisitiveness. 

This  faculty  is  essentially  necessary  to  man  and  animals, 
as  their  subsistence  often  depends  on  it.  It  is  acquisitiveness 
which  prompts  to  make  provision  for  the  future.  As  some 
carnivorous  animals  kill  more  than  is  necessary  for  their 
maintenance,  in  the  same  way  animals  and  man  not  only 
gather  what  is  immediately  necessary,  but  hoard  up  stores, 
sometimes  take  what  belongs  to  others,  and  collect  articles 
of  which  they  can  make  no  use.  The  abuses  of  the  faculty 
have  different  names  according  to  circumstances,  as  usury, 
plagiarism,  fraud,  theft,  piracy,  pillage.  Its  essence  is  not 
the  desire  to  steal,  nor  that  of  property,  but  the  propensity 
to  acquire  and  to  hoard. 

Having  thus  determined  the  special  faculty  of  this  organ, 
and  explained  the  nature  of  its  abuses,  its  admission  can  no 


ORGAN  OF  CONSTRUCTIVENESS 


203 


longer  be  said  to  be  dangerous.  The  organ  of  the  propensity 
is  situated  beneath  the  anterior  inferior  angle  of  the  parietal 
bone,  {PI.  VIII.  fig.  2.  VIII.)  above  secretiveness,  and  the 
name  acquisitiveness  designates  the  sphere  of  its  activity. 

IX.    Organ  of  Constructiveness. 

Gall  observed,  that  those  who  displayed  a  peculiar  disposi- 
tion to  mechanical  arts  had  a  face  of  a  somewhat  parallel 
form,  as  large  at  the  temples  as  at  the  cheeks ;  from  thence  he 
inferred  that  the  disposition  to  mechanical  arts  was  indicated 
when  the  brain  at  the  temples  is  prominent  or  large.  Farther 
observations  on  mechanicians,  architects,  sculptors,  and 
painters,  in  whom  this  organ  is  large,  soon  pointed  out  its 
precise  situation.  In  animals  the  ability  to  construct  is  not 
in  proportion  to  their  understanding.  The  beaver,  with  less 
intellect,  surpasses  the  dog  in  constructiveness.  The  skulls 
of  animals  which  build  and  make  burrows,  and  of  others 
which  do  not,  present  a  remarkable  difference  at  the  place  of 
this  organ,  as  is  seen  in  the  heads  of  rabbits  and  of  hares. 
The  beaver,  marmot,  hamster,  &c.  have  it  distinctly  expressed. 

In  a  certain  skull  preserved  at  Rome,  said  to  be  that  of 
Raphael,  and  casts  of  which  are  seen  in  phrenological  col- 
lections, the  organ  of  which  I  speak  is  exceedingly  large. 
Gall  possesses  the  skull  of  a  milliner  of  Vienna,  who  was 
very  dexterous  in  changing  the  forms  of  her  wares,  and  in 
it  also  the  organ  in  question  is  prominent.  This  organ  is 
larger  in  some  nations  than  in  others,  larger  in  the  Italians 
and  Erench  than  in  the  English,  larger  in  the  Esquimaux 
than  in  the  'New  Hollanders. 

Adversaries  of  Phrenology  may  ridicule  a  comparison  be- 
tween Raphael,  a  milliner,  and  a  field-mouse.  They  may 
laugh  at  a  doctrine  which,  as  they  conclude,  attributes  to  a 
similar  organ  the  sublime  conceptions  of  Raphael,  the  petty 
productions  of  a  milliner,  and  the  inartificial  habitation  of 
a  field-mouse.  But  doe*  not  the  sloth  creep  by  means  of 
organs  similar  to  those  by  which  the  horse  gallops,  and  the 
roe  bounds  with  the  swiftness  of  the  wind  ?  Does  not  the  ass 
bray  by  means  of  organs  similiar  to  those  by  which  a  Catalani 


PHRENOLOGY 


sings?  The  faculty  I  now  consider  did  not  alone  give  rise 
to  the  sublime  conceptions  of  Kaphael ;  it  was  however  essen- 
tial to  their  execution;  for  it  seems  to  me  to  produce  every 
thing  that  may  be  called  construction.  By  its  means  birds 
build  nests,  rabbits  make  burrows,  the  beaver  its  hut,  and 
man  constructs,  from  the  hovel  to  the  palaces  of  kings  and 
the  temples  of  God.  It  produces  fortifications,  ships,  the 
engines  of  war,  the  implements  of  manufactures,  instruments 
of  all  kinds,  furniture,  clothes,  and  toys;  it  is  essentiarnot 
only  in  every  mechanical  profession,  but  in  all  that  in  any 
way  require  manual  nicety,  as  in  the  arts  of  drawing,  engrav- 
ing, writing,  carving,  and  sculpture.  Locksmiths,  watch- 
makers, joiners,  turners,  and  all  those  who  use  tools,  are 
directed  by  it.  The  propensity  to  construct  generally,  or 
constructiveness,  seems  to  me  the  special  faculty  of  its  organ ; 
it,  therefore,  constitutes  only  one  part  of  the  mechanical  arts, 
giving  manual  dexterity,  and  being  destined  to  execute  me- 
chanical conceptions  of  whatever  nature.  For  the  same 
reason  it  is  necessary  to  those  who  excel  by  their  ability  in 
musical  performances,  to  clever  experimenters  in  physical 
doctrines,  to  good  operative  surgeons ;  some  insane  as  well  as 
some  idiots  possess  it  in  a  considerable  degree.  Fodere  in 
his  work  on  Cretinism  remarks,  that  he  has  known  several 
Cretins,  who  understood,  without  even  having  had  a  master, 
the  repairing  of  watches  and  the  construction  of  some  pieces 
of  mechanism.  On  the  other  hand,  persons  of  great  intel- 
lectual endowments  can  never  acquire  manual  dexterity. 
Too  large  a  developement  of  this  organ,  and  its  activity  not 
being  guided  by  the  higher  sentiments,  produces  abuses.  A 
man  for  instance  may  ruin  his  family  by  building,  or  peril 
his  life  by  constructing  dies  for  coining  false  money,  &c. 


Genus  11.  8entim.ents. 

After  mere  propensities,  follow  another  kind  of  faculties, 
which  I  call  sentiments.  Each  of  these  joins  to  a  propensity 
an  emotion,  or  feeling,  of  a  specific  kind.    Several  of  these 


ORGAN  OF  CAUTIOUSNESS 


205 


are  common  to  man  and  animals,  others  are  proper  to  man. 
I  shall  first  consider  those  which  I  entitle  the  inferior 
sentiments. 

X.    Orgmi  of  Cautiousness, 

We  often  meet  with  individuals  who  are  naturally  timid, 
fearful,  undecided  in  their  opinions,  and  incapable  of  taking 
a  resolution ;  while  we  see  others  who  act  without  hesitation, 
and  instantly  obey  every  internal  impulse  without  timidity  or 
fear.  Many  children  are  very  timorous,  and  easily  affrighted 
by  the  presence  of  strangers.  Women  and  females  in  general 
are  more  timid  and  careful  than  men  and  males.  Whole 
nations  also  are  remarkable  for  wariness  and  circumspection, 
whilst  others  are  noted  for  their  levity  and  carelessness  of 
disposition.  The  Scotch  and  Irish  offer  excellent  instances 
of  this  difference  of  character.  Insane  persons  are  some- 
times exceedingly  timid,  and  are  terrified  without  any  assign- 
able reason.  Finally,  whole  species,  and  individuals  of  the 
same  species  of  animals  differ  in  degrees  of  shyness  and 
circumspection.  Such  a  peculiar  feeling  then  must  be  con- 
sidered as  fundamental.  I^ow  what  is  the  special  faculty? 
Gall  says,  that  ^  man  and  animals  were  necessarily  endowed 
with  a  faculty  which  should  induce  them  to  look  forward 
to  coming  events  and  avoid  danger.  Without  such  a  disposi- 
tion, they  would  have  been  incapable  of  taking  any  measure 
for  the  future.'  He  calls  the  faculty  that  prompts  these 
actions  foresight.  ITow  I  do  not  believe  that  it  foresees; 
it  is,  in  my  opinion,  blind  and  without  reflection,  though  it 
may  excite  the  reflective  faculties.  It  incites  us  to  take  pre- 
cautions, it  doubts,  says  hut,  and  continually  exclaims,  take 
care.  When  too  active,  it  causes  such  abuses  as  uncertainty, 
inquietude,  anxiety,  irresolution,  melancholy,  and  hypochon- 
driasis. 

The  organ  of  this  sentiment  is  established,  and  its  place  is 
indicated  on  the  upper,  lateral  and  posterior  part  of  the  head, 
towards  the  middle  of  the  parietal  bones.  (PI.  V.  fig.  2. 
XII.)  Two  persons  at  Vienna,  remarkable  for  their  irreso- 
lute characters,  were  one  day  in  a  public  place;  Gall  stood 


PHRENOLOGY 


behind  them  and  observed  the  shape  of  their  heads ;  he  found 
them  extremely  prominent  and  large  at  the  place  I  have  just 
indicated.  This  observation  gave  him  the  first  idea  of  this 
organ,  v^hich  v^as  soon  afterwards  established  in  men  and 
animals.  The  form  of  the  heads  of  circumspect  persons, 
and  of  those  who  are  rash  and  incautious,  is  very  different. 
Shy  and  circumspect  animals  also,  as  the  stag,  roe,  pole-cat, 
otter,  mole,  and  those  which  place  sentinels,  as  the  chamois, 
crane,  starling,  and  bustard,  have  the  cerebral  parts  just 
mentioned  greatly  developed.  These  animals  certainly  have 
not  understanding  enough  to  induce  us  to  think,  that  their 
habit  of  placing  sentinels  is  the  result  of  reflection.  We 
should  rather  say,  that  such  an  act  may  be  commanded  by 
nature  by  means  of  some  peculiar  organic  arrangement. 
Moreover,  animals  which  see  in  daylight,  but  which  do  not 
dare  to  seek  their  food  except  during  the  night,  have  the 
upper  and  posterior  lateral  parts  of  their  heads  more 
developed  than  those  which  go  out  during  the  day.  The 
skull  of  the  eagle  is  very  different,  in  the  above-named 
situation,  from  that  of  the  homed  owl,  which  sees  during 
both  the  day  and  night. 

When  treating  of  the  organ  of  combativeness,  I  mentioned 
that  anxiety  and  fear  could  not  arise  from  a  want  of  courage, 
but  must  be  positive  affections  of  some  primitive  feeling. 
They  result,  in  my  opinion,  from  a  modified  state  of 
circumspection. 

We  may  suppose,  nevertheless,  that  any  one  destitute  of 
combativeness  will  be  overcome  by  cautiousness  sooner  than 
another  who  feels  a  great  propensity  to  fight.  Deficiency  of 
cautiousness,  on  the  contrary,  modifies  the  action  of  the  other 
faculties  in  so  far  as  they  are  allowed  to  act  according  to 
their  own  natures  without  restraint  from  any  feeling  of 
timidity. 

The  diseased  state  of  the  organ  of  cautiousness  is  very 
common,  and  predisposes  to  suicide.  Many  considerations 
on  this  point  may  be  found  in  my  work  on  Insanity. 

At  the  end  of  the  article  on  the  organ  of  cautiousness,  Gall 
speaks,  as  he  expresses  himself,  of  negative  qualities.  He 


ORGAN  OF  CAUTIOUSNESS 


207 


examines  and  endeavors  to  refute  my  manner  of  explaining 
fear.  Let  us  see  his  arguments :  he  begins  by  defining  what 
he  calls  negative  qualities,  viz.,  qualities  which  are  results 
not  of  the  action,  but  of  the  insufiicient  action  or  total  inac- 
tivity of  any  fundamental  power.  Amongst  other  things  he 
says,  '  if  fear  be  not  the  result  of  the  want  of  courage,  what 
are  the  faculties  which  may  inspire  aversion  and  even  horror 
for  women,  if  not  the  want  of  physical  love;  aversion  for 
music,  if  not  the  want  of  the  musical  talent;  erroneous 
judgment,  if  not  the  defect  of  intellect;  aversion  for  food, 
if  not  the  defect  of  appetite  ? '  '  How  can  Mr.  Spurzheim,^ 
he  asks,  '  conceive  hatred,  calumny,  cruelty,  or  imbecility, 
since  there  is  no  fundamental  power  for  either  hatred, 
calumny,  cruelty  or  imbecility  ? ' 

Gall,  in  this  essay  on  negative  qualities,  takes  no  notice  of 
my  ideas  on  the  affections  of  the  fundamental  powers ;  he  then 
confounds  ideas  which  are  common,  with  ideas  which  are 
peculiar  to  each  of  us;  moreover  he  does  not  separate  the 
phenomena  from  their  explanation;  this,  however,  is  neces- 
sary, since  we  often  admit  the  same  fact  and  differ  in  its 
explanation.  To  refute  my  opinion  on  fear,  he  recurs  to 
analogies,  but  evidently  confounds  the  result  of  certain  facul- 
ties being  inactive,  with  some  of  their  positive  affections,  with 
their  imperfect  and  deranged  actions,  and  with  sensations 
which  arise  from  exhaustion  of  the  powers.  These  notions 
then  must  be  separated,  and  the  mutual  influence  of  the 
special  faculties  considered,  in  order  to  clear  up  the  point 
at  issue. 

After  having  stated  that  there  is  no  fundamental  power 
for  hatred,  calumny,  cruelty  or  imbecility,  Gall  continues  to 
say :  '  I  myself  easily  conceive  these  phenomena.  External 
objects  procure  us  pleasure  only  in  so  far  as  there  exist  points 
of  contact  between  them  and  the  cerebral  organization.  If 
this  contact  ceases  to  exist,  the  external  objects  are  no  longer 
in  harmony  with  our  faculties;  disinclination  and  aversion 
succeed.  Who  has  not  felt  that  a  surfeit  of  certain  enjoy- 
ments produces  indifference,  or  even  real  disgust  for  what 
had  before  been  desired  most  ardently?    In  the  same  way. 


208 


PHRENOLOGY 


if  our  limbs  are  exhausted  by  fatigue,  we  feel  aversion  for 
walking.' 

I  admit,  with  him  and  many  others,  the  relations  between 
the  internal  faculties  and  external  objects,  and  I  take  up  these 
considerations  in  the  philosophical  part.  There  I  explain 
my  opinion  on  pleasure  and  pain,  considering  them  as  general 
affections :  for  every  faculty  being  active  desires,  and  being 
satisfied  or  agreeably  affected,  procures  pleasure;  not  being 
satisfied  or  disagreeably  affected,  it  gives  pain.  Thus  each 
fundamental  faculty  can  excite  pleasure  or  pain,  and  both 
in  different  degrees. 

Gall  merely  states  that  there  is  no  organ  for  hatred, 
calumny,  cruelty  or  imbecility,  and  does  not  indicate  the 
cerebral  organs  on  which  these  phenomena  depend.  Before 
I  explain  my  ideas  upon  this  particular,  I  shall  examine  our 
opinions  on  fear,  as  they  have  occasioned  this  discussion. 

I  consider  fear  as  an  affection  of  the  sense  of  circumspec- 
tion. Gall  replies,  that  ^  cowardice  (poUronerie)  is  always 
passive,  but  fear  sometimes  negative  and  sometimes  positive, 
and  that  the  most  courageous  person  feels  fear,  if  he  finds 
himself  exposed  to  a  danger  above  his  powers.  If  we  say,' 
continues  he,  '  that  a  man  or  an  animal  is  afraid,  we  do  not 
always  mean  to  say,  that  they  are  affected  with  fear  in  the 
same  way  as  one  is  affected  with  anger.  The  expression 
often  means,  that  a  man  or  an  animal  is  a  poltroon  or 
coward.  And  in  this  case  they  are  possessed  with  fear  more 
easily  than  if  they  were  courageous.  ITumerous  armies,' 
says  he,  at  the  end  of  the  article,  '  composed  of  men  remark- 
able for  their  courage,  have  had  fits  of  fear.  Did  not  the 
intrepid  Roman  sacrifice  to  Fear  ? ' 

Let  us  suppose  that  the  two  expressions,  to  be  a  coward, 
and  to  feel  fear,  are  synonymous,  still  I  neither  see  that  we 
can  therefore  infer,  that  fear  is  negative,  nor  that  the  knowl- 
edge of  danger  and  the  sensation  of  fear  take  place  in  the 
same  faculty.  I,  however,  conceive  that  the  knowledge  of 
any  danger  may  affect  the  sense  of  circumspection  in  a 
manner  to  which  the  name  fear  is  applied,  just  as  it  may 
excite  courage  and  make  a  person  fight  with  fury,  ^Neither 


ORGAN  OF  CAUTIOUSNESS 


209 


courage  nor  circumspection  know  the  danger  nor  reflect  on  it. 
Sometimes  the  most  innocent  and  harmless  things  inspire 
fear. 

^  If  circumspection/  says  Gall,  '  were  the  source  of  fear, 
careless  beings  ought  always  to  be  free  from  this  feeling; 
and  one  should  be  the  more  fearful,  the  more  circumspect 
one  is;  circumstances  which  we  do  not  find  confirmed  by 
experience.' 

Even  the  most  careless  of  beings  is  not  entirely  destitute 
of  circumspection;  and  other  faculties,  such  as  adhesiveness, 
love  of  approbation,  self-love  and  reflection,  may  excite  the 
little  dose  of  circumspection  that  exists  in  such  a  manner  as 
to  produce  fear.  Moreover,  any  one  endowed  with  courage, 
self-esteem,  acquisitiveness  and  firmness,  even  if  his  circum- 
spection be  considerable,  will  feel  less  fear  than  another  with 
smaller  circumspection,  and  deficient  courage,  self-love  and 
firmness.  The  reader  must  also  bear  in  mind  the  meaning 
which  I  attach  to  the  term  affection,  and  remember  that 
affections  do  not  depend  only  on  the  different  degrees  of 
activity  of  the  faculties ;  that  the  sense  of  touch,  for  instance, 
though  obtuse,  produces  the  sensation  of  itching ;  and  that,  in 
the  same  way,  fear  is  an  affection  or  quality  of  circumspec- 
tion. Moreover,  the  intrepid  Roman  who  sacrificed  to  Tear 
was  not,  could  not  be,  entirely  deprived  of  circumspection; 
and  in  personifying  Fear,  the  ancients  brought  sacrifices  to 
its  shrine,  in  order  to  secure  themselves  from  its  dangerous 
influence,  and  to  turn  the  divinity  against  their  enemies. 

I  said,  that  if  fear  resulted  from  the  absence  of  courage, 
I  could  not  understand  how  the  same  person  or  animal  might 
feel  fear  and  courage  at  the  same  time.  Gall  replied,  by  ask- 
ing, why  I  here  neglect  the  principle  upon  which,  on  other 
occasions,  I  insist  strongly,  viz.  that  the  actions  are  seldom 
the  result  of  a  single  organ?  This  question,  however,  is 
inconceivable  to  me,  since  I  explain  by  means  of  the  simul- 
taneous action  of  circumspection  and  courage,  the  possibility 
of  feeling  fear  and  coiirage  at  the  same  time.  The  same 
principle  readily  explains  several  phenomena  which  Gall 
merely  mentions. 
14 


210 


PHRENOLOGY 


Let  us  still  examine  whether  the  analogies,  quoted  bj  Gall, 
refute  my  opinion  on  the  origin  of  fear.  He  compares  fear 
with  fatigue,  disgust,  and  other  sensations,  which  result  from 
the  satisfaction  and  exhaustion  of  certain  faculties.  Will 
he  then  maintain  that  fear  is  ever  the  result  of  courage  when 
exhausted  ?  He  compares  it  also  with  the  inactivity  of 
faculties,  with  imbecility,  and  with  the  imperfect  functions 
of  the  intellectual  faculties  or  false  judgments.  None  of 
these  comparisons,  except  that  w4th  imbecility,  is  conformable 
to  the  definition  given  by  Gall  of  negative  qualities,  among 
which  he  includes  fear,  hatred,  calumny  and  cruelty.  Sev- 
eral persons  are  fond  of  reasoning,  but  their  conclusions  are 
false;  others  are  fond  of  singing,  and  of  making  melodies, 
but  cannot  produce  harmony.  Erroneous  reasoning,  how- 
ever, is  by  no  means  an  effect  of  the  inactive  state  of  the 
intellectual  faculties.  Hatred  does  not  seem  to  me  the 
consequence  of  the  inactive  or  exhausted  state  of  any  faculty. 
He  who  has  little  benevolence  and  the  other  moral  feelings 
inactive,  whilst  his  self-esteem,  his  desire  to  acquire,  and 
feelings  of  an  inferior  order,  act  with  energy,  will  hate  all 
who  oppose  his  personal  views.  Even  he  who  has  attachment, 
justice,  and  benevolence,  and  at  the  same  time  self-esteem, 
may  hate  a  person  who  forgets  his  duties  to  others,  and  is 
guided  by  selfishness  alone.  Justice  and  attachment  when 
offended  may  increase  or  excite  indignation  and  hatred ;  but 
these  affections  always  reside  in  feelings  of  an  inferior  order. 
It  is  the  same  with  calumny.  'No  one  will  speak  ill  of 
others  because  he  is  fatigued  with  praising  them.  But  selfish- 
ness, self-love,  and  the  love  of  approbation,  when  offended 
and  not  guided  by  justice,  may  feel  pleasure  in  calumniating. 

Einally,  cruelty  never  results  from  the  inactivity,  or  ex- 
haustion, or  fatigue  of  benevolence.  Benevolence,  when 
active,  always  prevents  cruelty;  but  when  inactive,  other 
feelings,  destructiveness  for  instance,  encouraged  by  self-love, 
firmness  and  selfish  motives  generally,  may  act  in  a  cruel 
manner. 

Thus,  all  Gall's  statements  in  refutation  of  mine,  and  in 
support  of  his  own  opinion  in  regard  to  the  origin  of  fear, 


ORGAN  OF  CAUTIOUSNESS 


211 


are  rather  for,  than  against  me.  I,  therefore,  continue  to 
think  that  fear  is  an  affection  of  the  feeling  of  circumspection, 
and  not  a  result  of  the  inactivity  of  courage,  or  of  courage 
satisfied  or  exhausted. 

In  the  fourth  volume  of  the  octavo  edition,  published  in 
1823,  Gall  has  once  more  taken  up  our  discussion  on  fear. 
He  replies  to  mj  opinion,  and  to  that  of  Dr.  Demangeon.  I 
shall  here  answer  him,  only  however  in  as  far  as  my  own 
is  concerned. 

Gall  first  states,  that  I  am  wrong  in  supposing  that  the 
expressions  avoir  peur  and  etre  poUron  are  synonymous.  He 
however  had  used  them  as  synonymous,*  and  instead  of 
reproaching  him  with  his  incorrect  French,  I  merely  said, 
in  supposing  that  these  two  expressions  were  synonymous, 
I  intended  to  discuss  ideas  only,  and  not  words,  particularly 
as  the  French  was  a  foreign  language  to  myself  as  to  him. 
This  short  explanation  may  suffice  to  rectify  Gall's  accusation. 

Moreover,  he  retracts  the  analogies  and  his  reasoning  on 
them,  declares  fear  to  be  an  affection  of  courage,  and  says  that 
he  employed  analogy  only  to  make  himself  clearer  in  his 
ideas  on  negative  qualities.  I  allow  this  to  be,  but  I  still 
continue  to  oppose  him  in  admitting  that  fear  is  sometimes 
negative.  To  the  notion  of  this  sort  of  fear  my  answer 
remains  the  same.  I  therefore  only  examine  whence  positive 
fear  arises.  Gall  considers  it  as  an  affection  of  the  organ 
of  courage,  and  not  as  the  result  of  circumspection.  He  sup- 
ports his  opinion,  by  asserting  that  fear  is  not  in  proportion 
to  circumspection.  Why  has  he  not  attended  to  my  answer 
to  this  argument,  viz.  that  I  do  not  consider  fear  as  an  affec- 
tion of  quantity,  but  of  quality  of  circumspection  ?  According 
to  his  manner  of  arguing,  fear  increases  in  proportion  as 
courage  diminishes,  and  is  evidently  always  a  negative 

* '  Quand  on  dit,'  says  he,  torn.  iii.  of  the  editions  in  folio  and  quarto, 
*  qu'un  homme  ou  un  animal  a  peur,  on  ne  veut  pas  toujours  dire  par  Id, 
que,  dans  ce  moment,  il  est  affecte  de  la  peur,  comme  on  est  affecte  de  la 
colore  ou  de  la  frayeur.  On  entend  dire  par  cette  expression  que  c'est 
un  homme  ou  animal  peureux,  poltron.' 


Q12 


PHRENOLOGY 


quality.  Thus  Gall  has  elicited  no  new  argument  which 
obliges  me  to  change  my  opinion,  and  our  discussion  on  fear 
remains  exactly  where  it  was  before  his  last  publication. 

XI.    Organ  of  the  Love  of  Approbation. 

Vanity  is  natural  to  mankind,  and  in  comparison  with  its 
frequency,  Gall  thinks  pride  a  scarcity.  Children  even  when 
very  young  are  fond  of  approbation;  emulation  stimulates 
the  youth  to  exertion ;  few  adults  are  insensible  to  the  voice 
of  applause;  and  multitudes,  governed  by  the  feeling  of 
ambition,  sacrifice  to  it  quiet,  sleep,  health,  and  even  life. 

Observation  proves  that  this  sentiment  is  more  powerfully 
felt  by  women  than  by  men ;  the  earliest  infancy  betrays  the 
difference.  To  many  women  a  new  gown  is  an  object  of 
admiration,  and  every  article  of  dress  an  object  of  display. 
Many  of  them  are  extremely  anxious  to  please  and  satisfy 
others. 

Certain  nations  also  are  governed  by  it  more  than  others. 
Montesquieu  considered  it  as  the  true  pivot  of  the  French 
government.  Its  derangement  is  a  frequent  symptom  of 
insanity.  Finally,  it  exists  in  many  animals,  as  in  the  horse, 
dog,  cat,  &c.  for  they  are  fond  of  being  caressed  and  flattered. 

Gall  discovered  the  organ  of  this  sentiment  whilst  engaged 
in  examining  that  of  pride.  Having  met  with  an  insane 
woman,  who  thought  herself  queen  of  France,  he  was  dis- 
appointed in  his  expectation  of  finding  a  large  organ  of 
pride.  He,  therefore,  turned  his  attention  to  the  rest  of  the 
head,  and  saw  that  the  parts  on  each  side  of  it  were  very 
prominent.  He  then  reflected  on  the  behavior  of  the  insane 
from  pride  and  from  vanity:  the  former,  imperious,  arro- 
gant, and  fond  of  commanding ;  the  latter,  polite,  affable,  and 
courteous,  comporting  themselves  in  a  manner  evidently 
indicating  a  wish  to  please ;  and  soon  learnt  to  separate  the 
action  and  indication  of  each  of  these  sentiments.  Having 
afterwards  examined  the  heads  of  several  individuals,  known 
for  their  ambition,  and  found  a  configuration  similar  to  that 
of  the  insane  woman,  he  began  to  speak  of  an  organ  of 
ambition  and  of  vanity.     Is  this  its  fundamental  faculty? 


ORGAN  OF  LOVE  OF  APPROBATION 


213 


'  The  sentiment  of  self-esteem,  vanity,  and  ambition,'  says 
Gall,"  '  is  fundamental.'  He  quotes  and  admits  the  opinion 
of  Count  Segur,  according  to  which  there  is  no  nation  without 
vanity,  which  is  the  cause  of  the  mutual  hatred  of  nations. 
Thus  he  evidently  confounds  pride  with  vanity.  So  does 
Dr.  Brown  in  his  Philosophy. 

I  regard  self-esteem  as  the  basis  of  pride,  a  sentiment  mani- 
fested by  the  organ  last  spoken  of,  while  the  faculty  I  now 
consider  looks  for  the  approbation  of  others,  whether  deserved 
or  not,  whether  in  a  good  or  in  a  bad  cause.  It  makes  us 
attentive  to  the  opinion  entertained  of  us,  and  induces  the 
question,  what  will  the  world  or  the  people  say  ?  It  is  fond 
of  approbation  in  general,  without  attending  to  the  manner 
of  acquiring  it,  and  may  therefore  be  directed  to  objects  of 
the  highest  importance,  as  well  as  to  such  as  are  of  no 
moment,  or  even  hurtful.  Its  sphere  of  activity  is  very 
extensive ;  for  it  is  sensible  to  caresses  and  flattery,  to  compli- 
ments, to  applause  and  to  glory ;  it  wishes  to  be  distinguished 
and  honored,  and  men  endowed  with  it  make  use  of  many 
and  various  means  to  attract  attention.  They  dress  fash- 
ionably, and  resort  to  ostentation  and  showy  things  of  all 
kinds;  they  look  for  decorations,  titles  and  other  worldly 
distinctions.  Ambition  is  the  distinguishing  epithet  of  its 
agency,  if  the  object  aspired  to  be  of  great  importance; 
vanity,  if  claim  be  laid  to  distinction  on  the  score  of  trifles. 
Its  activity  extends  through  all  ranks  of  society.  The  general 
who  leads  back  a  victorious  army  is  elated  with  the  applause 
of  his  countrymen,  and  the  slave  is  delighted  if  the  mamier 
in  which  he  has  performed  his  task  be  approved.  Combined 
with  the  lower  feelings  it  may  be  pleased  by  the  reputation 
of  being  the  greatest  eater  and  drinker,  the  best  fighter. 
Some  would  do  everything  to  gain  fame.  It  is  one  of  the 
most  powerful  motives  in  society. 

This  fundamental  power  though  essential  to  society,  by  its 
too  great  activity  causes  many  abuses.  It  favors  industry, 
but  also  introduces  luxury,  it  produces  polite  manners,  but 


*  T.  iii.  p.  326  and  328. 


2U 


PHRENOLOGY 


makes  us  slaves  of  fashion  and  is  the  mortal  enemy  of  per- 
sonal liberty.  Nations  who  possess  it  in  an  eminent  degree 
are  scarcely  fit  for  a  free  government.  The  number  of  those 
who  wish  to  distinguish  themselves  only  by  talent  and  virtue 
is  small. 

The  organ  of  the  love  of  approbation  is  established.  Being 
much  developed,  it  generally  elongates  the  posterior,  upper, 
and  lateral  part  of  the  head.  (PI.  V.  fig.  1.  and  2.  XL) 
Sometimes,  however,  it  is  more  spread  out  on  either  side,  and 
then  the  head  is  widened  rather  than  elongated.  I  propose 
the  name,  love  of  approbation,  for  this  special  faculty. 

XII.    Organ  of  Self-esteem. 

Self-esteem  is  one  of  the  faculties  generally  attributed  to 
external  circumstances;  but  its  activity  is  so  very  great 
and  universal,  that  I  am  astonished  it  has  not  been  at  all 
times  considered  as  a  special  feeling.  The  fall  of  man  is 
ascribed  to  pride.  Haughtiness  is  observed  in  individuals 
who  have  no  pretensions  to  influence  over  others,  either  by 
birth,  fortune,  or  personal  talents;  whilst  many  who  enjoy 
these  advantages  are  remarkable  for  the  modesty  and  humility 
of  their  deportment.  Poor,  ignorant  and  pitiful  creatures 
have  sometimes  the  greatest  ojDinion  of  their  own  personal 
importance ;  and  children  may  frequently  be  found  who  are 
fond  of  showing  superiority.  In  every  community  we  find 
leaders  and  followers ;  no  profession  has  ever  been  free  from 
the  influence  of  pride;  even  teachers  of  humility  have  too 
often  shown  it  in  all  their  actions.  Proud  persons  con- 
stantly use  the  pronoun  of  the  first  person,  viz.  I  say,  I 
think,  I  do;  I,  and  always  I.  Whole  nations  in  whom  self- 
esteem  is  active  think  themselves  superior  to  all  the  world 
besides ;  they  know  every  thing  best,  and  their  sanction  seems 
to  them  of  the  utmost  importance. 

Self-esteem  is  more  common  in  men  than  in  women;  boys 
frequently  place  their  judgment  above  that  of  others,  while 
girls  always  look  for  the  approbation  of  those  who  surround 
them.  It  is  stronger  in  some  nations  than  in  others.  More- 
over this  sentiment  is  often  deranged,  and  niany  lunatics 


ORGAN  OF  SELF-ESTEEM 


215 


think  themselves  ministers,  kings,  and  emperors,  or  even  the 
Supreme  Being;  and  there  are  a  greater  number  of  men 
than  of  women  alienated  by  pride. 

A  feeling  similar  to  the  pride  of  man  seems  to  exist  in 
certain  animals,  as  in  the  turkey-cock,  peacock,  and  horse. 

Gall  thinks  that  the  organ  of  self-esteem  is  the  same  as 
that  of  the  faculty  which  makes  animals  dwell  upon  moun- 
tains and  elevated  places;  hence  he  calls  it  the  organ  of 
haughtiness ;  meaning  to  designate  at  once  physical  and  moral 
height.  In  speaking  of  the  organ  of  inhabitiveness,  I  have 
given  the  reasons  which  induce  me  to  differ  from  him,  and 
have  in  a  former  page  said,  that  I  conceive  one  faculty 
necessary  to  produce  the  propensity  to  determinate  inhabita- 
tion, and  another  to  cause  the  sentiment  of  which  I  now  treat. 

Gall's  attention  was  first  drawn  to  the  sentiment  of  pride, 
from  having  examined  the  head  of  a  beggar,  the  middle  of 
the  upper  and  back  part  of  which  presented  an  elevation  he 
had  not  observed  before.  Having  asked  the  man  the  cause 
of  his  mendicity,  he  was  astonished  to  hear  him  accuse  his 
pride  as  the  origin  of  his  miserable  condition.  He  had  con- 
ceived such  a  high  notion  of  his  own  importance  as  to  believe 
himself  infinitely  above  learning  a  trade  or  profession.  Thus 
incapable  of  earning  a  livelihood,  begging  was  his  only 
resource  to  save  himself  from  starvation. 

We  have  such  a  number  of  observations  confirmatory  of 
this  organ,  in  individuals  in  both  sexes,  in  whole  nations, 
and  in  disease,  that  we  consider  it  as  established. 

^Vhat  then  is  its  fundamental  power?  The  word  pride, 
although  the  sentiment  commonly  manifests  itself  in  a  way 
that  would  warrant  the  name,  is  still  too  harsh,  and  would 
indicate  a  degree  of  activity  which  produces  many  disorders. 
Christian  morality  warns  us  against  pride  and  presumptuous 
conduct,  and  inculcates  humility  and  meekness.  It  would, 
therefore,  be  improper  to  adopt  the  characteristic  sign  of  an 
abuse  as  the  title  of  a  primitive  power.  This  sentiment  seems 
to  give  us  a  great  opinion  of  ourselves,  constituting  self-love 
or  self-esteem.  Too  active,  it  produces  pride,  haughtiness, 
disdain,  contempt,  presumption,  arrogance,  and  insolence.  A 


216 


PHRENOLOGY 


moderate  degree  of  it  gives  dignity  and  nobleness  to  the  char- 
acter, and  secures  against  low-mindedness ;  but  I  do  not 
believe  Gall  is  right  when  he  says,*  modesty  and  lowness  of 
mind  result  from  insufficient  developement  of  this  organ.  I 
think  a  person  may  be  proud  and  basely-minded  at  the  same 
time.  Eeal  lowness  of  mind  supposes  a  deficiency  of  the 
sentiments  of  justice  and  ideality,  for  a  person  who  is  proud, 
just,  and  inclined  to  improvement,  will  never  be  guilty  of  a 
mean  action.  Modesty  also  does  not  result  solely  from  the 
absence  of  pride ;  this  condition  only  permits  the  moral  senti- 
ments and  cautiousness  to  act  in  a  certain  way,  to  which  the 
title  ^  modesty '  is  applied.  Self-esteem  contributes  to  per- 
sonal and  national  independency,  though  it  is  not  sufficient 
to  secure  liberty.  It  is  an  essential  ingredient  of  the  love 
of  dominion.  These  ideas,  however,  can  only  be  clear  to 
those  who  are  acquainted  with  the  fundamental  powers  of  the 
mind,  and  the  effects  of  their  mutual  influence. 

On  the  other  hand,  nobleness  of  character  is  not  the  result 
of  self-esteem  alone.  Noble  or  notable  primitively  meant  the 
being  remarkable  in  any  way.  I  heartily  desire  to  see  this 
name  given  only  to  those  who  excel  by  their  superior  qualities. 
The  signification,  however,  of  that  which  is  superior,  both  as 
regards  qualities  and  actions,  varies  exceedingly.  Among 
warlike  nations  personal  courage  is  one  of  the  first  and  most 
valuable  qualities,  and  conquerors  and  those  who  contend  for 
absolute  power,  accord  to  their  soldiers  and  companions  in 
arms  all  the  principal  distinctions.  They  are  praised  and 
called  nobles,  they  form  a  congregation,  and  their  nobleness 
consists  in  qualities  which  favor  the  personal  views  of  their 
leader. 

History  shows  us  that  this  spirit  prevailed  more  or  less 
among  ancient  nations,  and  that  it  has  always  had  a  principal 
influence  during  ages  of  barbarism.  Among  the  Romans 
mnny  occupations,  although  indispensable  to  life,  were  con- 
sidered as  ignoble  and  unbecoming  in  a  soldier.  Many  lazy 
and  idle  persons  think  themselves  above  others,  who  are 


*  Edition  in  4to.  t.  iii.  p.  322. 


ORGAN  OF  SELF-ESTEEM 


217 


obliged  to  earn  their  daily  bread.  Warriors  have  generally 
understood  better  than  the  members  of  any  other  profession 
how  to  secure  the  first  rank  in  society,  they  have  always  been 
the'  most  powerful,  and  have  used  their  strength  to  further 
their  own  advantage.  The  priesthood  also  succeeded  at  an 
early  period  in  acquiring  distinction  and  nobility,  as  dispen- 
sators  of  eternal  happiness,  and  as  administrators  of  the 
divine  legislation.  Wealth,  though  it  gives  great  influence  in 
society,  has  never  been  considered  as  sufficient  of  itself  to 
confer  nobility  on  its  possessor,  but  the  rich  have  been  per- 
mitted to  purchase  titles  of  nobility.  Self-esteem  with 
acquisitiveness,  whilst  benevolence  and  justice  remain 
inactive,  contend  for  privileges. 

Ideas  upon  nobleness  having  gradually  become  sounder  and 
sounder,  we  can  now  say,  that  the  nature  of  all  men  is  essen- 
tially the  same ;  that  each  individual  differs  from  his  fellow 
only  in  the  degree  of  talents  and  feelings  he  possesses,  that 
it  is  a  duty  incumbent  on  every  one  to  contribute  to  the 
general  welfare  and  common  happiness,  and  that  talent  and 
virtue  constitute  the  essence  of  nobility.  Individuals  are  in 
reality  noble  in  proportion  as  they  possess  the  superior  facul- 
ties of  mind,  l^ow  since  distinctions  should  be  conferred  on 
the  score  of  superior  qualities  alone,  it  follows  that  they  are 
to  be  personal,  and  not  attached  as  hereditary  rights  to  certain 
families.  If  it  be  unjust  to  punish  children  for  the  crimes 
of  their  parents,  I  see  no  reason  why  unworthy  children 
should  be  rewarded  for  the  merits  of  their  ancestors.  Let 
every  one  reap  the  fruits  of  his  own  labor,  and  enjoy  as  far 
as  he  is  deserving.  To  confer  any  hereditary  privilege  is  to 
do  an  injustice  to  posterity.  I  admit,  it  is  true,  mental 
dispositions,  under  certain  conditions,  to  be  hereditary;  as 
these  conditions,  however,  have  hitherto  been  neglected,  and 
are  not  likely  to  be  observed  for  some  time  to  come,  I  cannot 
help  saying,  that  it  is  improper  to  permit  degenerate  chil- 
dren to  enjoy  privileges,  which  parents  received  as  rewards 
of  talent  or  virtue. 

In  the  actual  state  of  society,  I  do  not  find  it  reasonable 
to  confer  similar  marks  of  distinction  upon  soldiers,  clergy- 


218 


PHRENOLOGY 


men,  artists,  legislators,  and  every  modification  of  characters 
and  talents,  since  the  services  rendered  by  each  to  mankind, 
are  not  equal.  The  merits  of  a  moral  teacher,  and  of  a 
soldier  who  aids  a  conqueror  in  his  views,  are  in  my  opinion 
very  different. 

Jesus  constantly  admonished  his  disciples  against  greedi- 
ness of  superiority;  greediness  with  them  was  to  consist  in 
humility. 

Superior  Sentiments, 

I  have  hitherto  gone  over  the  affective  faculties  which  are 
common  to  man  and  animals;  and  even  here,  in  this  purely 
animal  portion  of  his  nature,  man  is  the  most  perfect  of  all 
terrestrial  beings.  He  alone  possesses  all  the  faculties  which 
are  but  sparingly  distributed  through  different  tribes  of 
animals.  Besides  every  faculty  is  susceptible  of  many  more 
modifications  and  of  greater  energy  in  man  than  in  animals. 
So  far  however  man  is  merely  an  animal.  His  pride,  vanity, 
selfishness,  and  other  inferior  feelings,  we  have  seen,  are 
the  causes  of  innumerable  disorders;  the  addition  of  certain 
superior  faculties  was  therefore  necessary  to  regulate  the 
actions  of  the  inferior  feelings,  and  to  establish  his  moral 
character.  ISlow  here  it  is  important  to  recollect,  that  no 
superior  feeling  any  more  than  those  of  an  inferior  nature 
results  from  intellect.  It  is  also  important  to  specify 
each  kind  of  these  feelings,  and  to  inquire  how  far  they 
operate  amongst  animals.  One  of  them  cannot  be  entirely 
denied  to  brutes ;  for  this  reason  I  shall  begin  with  it. 

XIII.    Organ  of  Benevolence. 

Philosophers  frequently  ask,  is  man  by  nature  good  or 
bad  ?  Both  opinions  find  supporters,  and  both  have  oppo- 
nents. The  answer  is  not  so  very  difficult  as  has  been 
imagined.  Men  are  not  born  alike  in  this  respect.  Many 
children  are  good-hearted,  benevolent,  and  sensible  to  the 
sufferings  of  others.  Common  people,  without  education, 
often  display  a  great  deal  of  benevolence  and  sympathy. 
Some  individuals  find  their  chief  source  of  delight  in  doing 


ORGAN  OF  BENEVOLENCE 


219 


acts  of  charity.  St.  Vincent  de  Paul  offered  to  bear  the 
chains  of  a  criminal,  in  order  to  restore  him  to  his  wife  and 
children,  who  suffered  the  extreme  of  misery  and  distress. 
Individuals  who  devote  their  lives  to  the  relief  and  consola- 
tion of  the  wretched,  are  to  be  found  in  great  numbers. 

On  the  other  hand,  we  see  children  complete  egotists,  and 
entirely  thoughtless  of  others:  many  arrived  at  mature  age 
think  of  themselves  alone,  and  benevolence  towards  their 
fellows  is  known  to  them  merely  by  the  name.  Some  tribes, 
and  even  whole  nations,  are  mild  and  peaceable,  whilst  others 
are  warlike  and  cruel.  The  Hindoos  and  Caribs  are  remark- 
able and  well  Imovm  instances  of  the  extremes  of  goodness 
and  cruelty. 

Derangement  of  benevolence  is  occasionally  a  symptom  in 
insanity.  It  is  sometimes  too  active,  and  in  other  cases  not 
active  enough. 

Benevolence,  as  an  innate  feeling,  may  also  be  proved  by  a 
reference  to  animals,  and  by  comparing  the  natural  disposi- 
tions either  of  various  kinds,  or  of  different  individuals  of 
the  same  species.  Several  kinds  are  naturally  meek,  as  the 
roe  and  sheep ;  others  are  wild  and  mischievous,  as  the 
chamois  and  tiger.  Some  dogs,  horses,  cows,  monkeys,  &c. 
are  meek  and  familiar,  while  others  are  fierce  and  bad 
tempered. 

There  are  examples  on  record  where  animals  have  shown 
high  degrees  of  benevolence  to  others  and  even  to  man.  A 
respectable  family  of  Paris  told  me  that  they  had  a  horse 
and  a  cow,  living  together  in  the  same  stable ;  that  the  horse 
several  times  got  untied,  went  to  the  corner  where  the  sack 
of  oats  stood  and  drew  it  in  his  teeth  near  the  cow,  probably 
to  make  her  partake  of  the  good  cheer.  Many  dogs  also 
exhibit  the  same  feeling.  Dupont  de  ^Nemours  saw  a  swallow 
caught  by  one  foot  in  the  noose  of  a  packthread  attached  to 
the  roof  of  the  French  Institute  at  Paris;  the  prisoner 
screamed,  and  attracted  all  the  swallows  of  the  neighborhood ; 
after  a  long  and  tumultuous  consultation,  a  great  number 
formed  a  line,  one  after  another  darted  at  the  packthread 
with  their  bills,  and  in  half  an  hour  delivered  the  captive. 


220 


PHRENOLOGY 


From  the  preceding  observations  it  results,  that  benevo- 
lence is  an  innate  and  particular  faculty,  and  by  no  means 
the  effect  of  external  circumstances,  as  some  have  supposed, 
still  less  of  the  deficiency  of  courage ;  since  it  is  certain  that 
many  quarrelsome  persons  are  good-hearted,  and  timid  and 
cowardly  individuals  often  mischievous  and  cruel. 

It  was  some  time  before  Gall  thought  of  looking  for  good- 
ness of  heart  in  the  brain.  The  servant  of  a  certain  family 
at  Vienna,  with  which  the  doctor  was  intimate,  having  been 
frequently  praised  for  benevolent  and  kind  dispositions,  he 
at  last  moulded  the  man's  head  in  plaster.  Observing  a 
considerable  protuberance  on  the  superior  and  middle  part 
of  the  frontal  bone,  just  where  the  hair  begins  to  grow,  he 
set  down  the  occurrence  as  worthy  of  farther  attention,  and 
having  subsequently  examined  the  heads  of  a  great  number 
of  benevolent  and  kind  people,  the  function  of  the  cerebral 
part  in  the  above  situation  was  speedily  confirmed. 

It  is  interesting  to  remark,  that  among  the  antiques,  the 
head  of  Seneca,  in  the  seat  of  the  organ  of  benevolence,  is 
much  higher  than  that  of  'Nero.  The  same  striking  differ- 
ence may  be  seen  by  comparing  good  portraits  of  Malesherbes 
and  Danton. 

Good-natured  animals  have  also  the  part  corresponding  to 
the  organ  of  benevolence  in  man  elevated  and  prominent. 
(PI.  VII .  fig.  1  and  3,  XIII.)  Such  as  are  vicious  and 
bad  tempered  have,  on  the  contrary,  the  same  place  flat  or 
hollow.    {PI.  VII.  fig.  2  and  4,  XIII.) 

Gall  considers  benevolence,  justice,  the  sense  of  morality 
and  of  conscience,  as  belonging  to  one  and  the  same  funda- 
mental power.  He  first  makes  some  general  reflections,  and 
then  comparing  the  moral  sense  with  benevolence,  thinks 
himself  authorized  to  conclude  that  benevolence  is  only  a 
higher  degree  of  its  activity.  He  also  considers  conscience 
as  a  modification  of  benevolence.  He  shows  that  that  feeling 
does  not  depend  on  social  intercourse ;  and  allows  it  necessary 
to  determine  by  laws  what  shall  be  just  and  what  shall  be 
unjust,  that  is,  to  establish  an  arbitrary  conscience.  '  Man/ 
says  he,  '  nevertheless,  being  destined  to  live  in  society,  re- 


ORGAN  OF  BENEVOLENCE 


221 


quires  the  sense  of  morality;  without  it  no  association,  no 
familv,  no  nation,  can  be  united/  *  Hume  in  his  inquiry 
concerning  the  principles  of  morals,  also  admits  an  instinctive 
principle  of  humanity  and  disinterested  benevolence  im- 
planted by  nature  in  the  human  heart,  which  takes  delight 
in  whatever  tends  to  the  happiness  of  mankind,  which  renders 
virtue  an  object  of  regard  on  account  of  its  utility,  and  vice 
an  object  of  abhorrence  on  account  of  its  pernicious  tendency. 

According  to  this  hypothesis,  all  social  animals,  as  the 
sheep,  duck,  cow,  horse,  &c.  ought  to  possess  the  moral  sense. 
This,  however,  is  not  the  case.  Yet  there  is  no  proportion 
between  the  moral  sense  and  benevolence.  Many,  who  have 
the  organ  of  benevolence  much  developed,  possess  very  little  of 
'  the  feeling  of  justice.  I  agree  with  Gall,  and  many  other 
philosophers,  upon  the  innateness  of  the  moral  sense;  but 
I  do  not  think  that  the  sentiment  of  justice  is  the  same  as 
that  of  benevolence.  I  support  my  opinion  by  the  arguments, 
which  prove  the  plurality  of  the  faculties ;  I  also  acknowledge 
the  necessity  of  positive  laws,  but  cannot  assent  to  the 
explanation  given  by  Gall  of  conscience ;  for  we  see  many 
animals  endowed  with  benevolence  which  never  demonstrate 
the  feeling  of  repentance. 

Such  are  the  considerations  which  induce  me  to  admit  a 
sense  of  morality,  independent  of  reason  and  different  from 
benevolence.  This  latter  is  itself  a  fundamental  power, 
producing  mildness  and  goodness,  and  a  long  catalogue  of 
modified  actions  variously  styled;  benignity,  clemency, 
mercifulness,  compassion,  kindness,  humanity,  cordiality, 
urbanity,  hospitality,  philanthropy,  the  love  of  our  neighbor, 
and  charity. 

Cruelty,  being  a  positive  sensation,  cannot  be  the  conse- 
quence of  the  want  of  benevolence,  as  Gall  supposes.  Good- 
ness of  heart  cannot  exist  in  a  high  degree  in  those  cruel 
beings  who  delight  in  tormenting  others,  and  in  cold-blooded 
criminals ;  but  active  cruelty  belongs  to  the  organ  of  destruc- 
tiveness,  unrestrained  by  the  superior  powers.  Another 


*  T.  iv.  of  the  editions  in  folio  and  quarto. 


PHRENOLOGY 


opinion  of  Gall,  of  which  I  cannot  approve  is,  that  benevo- 
lence may  degenerate  into  bad  temper,  and  into  the  propensity 
to  rejoice  in  the  evil  that  happens  to  others ;  in  the  same  way 
as  the  sense  of  taste  may  degenerate  into  disgust  at  food, 
physical  love  into  aversion  to  the  other  sex,  and  the  sense  of 
melody  to  aversion  to  music.  The  inactivity  of  benevolence, 
or  its  exhausted  state,  may  produce  indifference  to  its  func- 
tions, and  make  us  avoid  any  opportunity  of  doing  beneficent 
actions  ;  but  active  wickedness,  and  pleasure  in  the  pains  of 
others,  like  cruelty,  depend  on  inferior  feelings,  unaccom- 
panied by  superior  sentiments. 

Benevolence  though  admirable  in  its  nature  must  be  com- 
bined with  the  sentiments  proper  to  man  and  with  intellect, 
otherwise  it  produces  abuses.  Indulged  for  itself  it  may 
encourage  idleness,  careless  conduct  and  profligacy,  and 
produce  great  disorders  in  society  and  the  worst  consequences. 

Sentiments  proper  to  Man, 

Gall  formerly  considered  morality  and  religion  as  one 
power,  but  later  he  assigned  benevolence  and  morality  to 
one  organ,  and  the  knowledge  of  God  and  religion  to  another. 
The  points  to  be  examined  here  are:  1st.  Whether  man  is 
a  moral  and  religious  being  by  nature;  2nd.  whether 
morality  and  religion  may  be  separated  from  each  other  as 
to  their  essence;  3d.  whether  morality  and  religion  are  single 
powers,  or  whether  they  depend  each  on  several  fundamental 
feelings;  and  4th.  whether  the  manifestations  of  the  moral 
and  religious  feelings  depend  on  the  instrumentality  of  the 
brain. 

Let  us  first  examine  whether  mankind  is  morally  religious 
by  nature.  Some  churchmen  would  persuade  the  credulous, 
that  preaching  and  religious  instruction  alone  produce  senti- 
ments of  religion  and  morality.  The  ancient  philosophers, 
on  the  contrary,  believed  and  taught  that  man  was  religious 
by  nature.  Plutarch  observed  that  there  was  neither  town. 
nor  village  in  the  world  without  a  god.  Aristotle,  Plato, 
Cicero,  Seneca,  and  many  others  have  made  the  same  remark, 
and  the  fathers  of  the  Christian  church  themselves  have 


ORGAN  OF  BENEVOLENCE 


223 


commented  on  this  truth,  in  order  to  prove  that  the  belief  in 
a  God  was  innate. 

The  innateness  of  religion  is  not  only  proved  by  its  univer- 
sality among  mankind,  but  also  by  the  sameness  of  the  ideas 
which  prevail  on  all  essential  points  of  belief.  It  is  with 
religion  as  with  the  principles  of  all  the  fundamental  powers ; 
they  are  the  same  at  all  times  and  under  every  variety  of 
circumstance.  The  laws  of  music  and  of  painting  are  uni- 
versally and  invariably  the  same,  and  in  every  religion  there 
is  something  venerated,  whether  it  be  a  log,  a  stone,  or  a  star ; 
the  jealous  and  vindictive  God  of  the  Jews,  or  the  meek  and 
benevolent  Deity  of  the  Christians. 

To  this  it  is  objected,  that  the  Supreme  Being  has  revealed 
his  will  from  time  to  time,  and  that  religious  ideas  have  been 
preserved  by  tradition.  But  religion  existed  before  the  time 
of  the  Jews,  and  even  since  they  appeared  as  a  distinct 
people,  their  revelation  has  been  limited  to  themselves,  and 
other  nations  have  not  ceased  to  have  creeds  entirely  different. 
There  are  many  nations  who  never  received  the  revelation 
either  of  the  Jews  or  the  Christians,  and  who  still  manifest 
religious  sentiments  and  have  peculiar  forms  of  worship.  It 
must  even  be  granted  that  as  man  was  destined  to  have  a 
revelation,  he  was  also  necessarily  made  capable  of  receiving 
it.  Who  would  attempt  to  make  any  animal,  inferior  to  man, 
acquainted  with  revelation  1  It  is  a  general  law  that  neither 
man  nor  animals  can  be  instructed  unless  endowed  with  the 
individual  faculty  which  appreciates  the  peculiar  sort  of 
knowledge  conveyed.  Dogs  do  not  learn  religion  any  more 
than  music.  Revelation,  then,  can  only  have  regulated  the 
religious  sentiments  which  existed  previously  to  its  annuncia- 
tion, and  I  think  with  Bishop  Butler,*  that  Christianity  is  a 
re'puhlication  of  natural  religion  in  its  genuine  simplicity. 

Phrenology  does  not  examine  the  superiority  of  any  re- 
ligious creed,  or  in  what  the  true  religion  consists;  it  does 
not  decide  how  long  mankind  may  still  be  abused  by  religious 
errors,  or  whether  it  is  right  or  wrong  to  make  it  a  trade. 

*  Analogy  of  Religion  p.  180. 


Q24> 


PHRENOLOGY 


It  merely  admits  innate  dispositions  to  take  up  religious 
considerations.  It  teaches  only  that  sentiments  of  religion 
are  inherent  in  the  nature  of  man,  that  they  are  part  of  the 
plan  of  creation,  and  that  the  human  race  will  never  exist 
without  them. 

The  next  point  to  be  considered  is,  whether  morality  and 
religion  result  from  the  same  fundamental  power.  It  seems 
to  me  of  the  highest  importance  to  specify  the  difference 
between  religion  and  morality.  I  call  religious  each  power 
which  brings  man  in  relation  to  supernatural  beings,  par- 
ticularly to  God:  and  moral,  those  on  which  the  actions  of 
man,  concerning  the  beings  around  him,  depend.  Christianity 
is  at  once  religious  and  moral ;  religious  in  as  far  as  it  teaches 
the  existence  of  God  and  his  revealed  will  and  doctrine; 
moral  in  as  far  as  it  commands  the  works  of  charity  and 
justice.  There  are  persons  who  fancy  themselves  very  pious 
and  religious  when  they  say  that  they  believe  in  revelation 
and  in  the  doctrines  of  faith ;  when  they  go  to  church  regu- 
larly, sing  psalms,  and  follow  up  all  the  rites  and  ceremonies 
prescribed ;  though  at  the  same  time  they  are  very  selfish, 
and  cheat  their  neighbors  whenever  they  can.  I^ay  there 
are  some  who  hope  for  eternal  salvation  through  belief  in  the 
doctrines  alone,  without  doing  any  good  works,  and  in  leaving 
this  part  of  religion  to  the  care  of  their  Heavenly  Father 
himself.  'Now,  in  this  sense,  an  atheist  may  be  moral,  and 
a  believer  in  divine  revelation  immoral.  There  is  certainly 
a  difference  between  the  belief  in  revelation  and  that  in  the 
revealed  precepts  intended  to  produce  works  of  charity  and 
righteousness. 

Sterne,  T.  Shandy,  vol.  i.  c.  140,  says,  ^  that  there  is 
nothing  more  common  than  to  see  a  man  who  has  no  sense 
at  all  of  religion,  and  indeed  has  so  much  honesty  as  to 
pretend  to  none,  who  would  take  it  as  the  bitterest  affront, 
should  you  but  hint  at  a  suspicion  on  his  moral  character, 
or  imagine  he  was  not  conscientiously  just  and  scrupulous  to 
the  uttermost  mite.'  Sterne,  however,  thought  that  we  have 
no  dependence  upon  morality  without  religion,  but  adds, 
^  that,  on  the  other  hand  too,  there  is  nothing  better  to  be 


ORGAN  OF  REVERENCE 


225 


expected  from  religion  without  morality/  and  lie  allows  that 
^  it  is  no  prodigy  to  see  a  man  whose  real  moral  character 
stands  very  low,  who  yet  entertains  the  highest  notions  of 
himself  in  the  light  of  a  religions  man.' 

Our  moral  and  religious  natures  are  joined  together,  but 
they  are  not  the  result  of,  or  their  strength  proportionate  to 
each  other.  In  Phrenology  they  are  examined  separately  as 
to  their  existence  and  nature. 

Farther,  there  are  several  moral  and  several  religious 
feelings,  and  all  their  manifestations  depend  on  cerebral 
organs.  Many  religious  persons  find  it  difficult  to  admit  the 
latter  part.  Yet  its  certainty  is  proved  by  incontestable 
facts,  and  phrenologists  instead  of  apprehending  this  truth, 
consider  it  as  the  best  means  of  putting  an  end  to  all  discus- 
sion as  to  the  necessity  of  religion.  Indeed,  if  religious 
manfestations  depend  on  the  brain,  the  necessity  of  religion 
is  established,  and  the  certainty  that  it  can  never  be  neglected 
as  one  of  the  natural  institutions  of  society,  proclaimed. 
This  innateness  does  not  exclude  the  idea  of  revelation,  and 
phrenologists  rely  on  the  principle,  that  the  Creator  of  the 
world  and  the  revealer  of  true  religion  is  the  same  God,  who 
could  not  be  in  contradiction  with  himself  at  different 
periods,  nor  give  any  commands  in  opposition  to  the  primitive 
laws  of  nature;  they  rather  think  that  he  prepared  the  brain 
in  relation  to  his  revealed  will. 

The  first  moral  quality  is  benevolence,  styled  in  Christi- 
anity the  love  of  our  neighbor.  It  has  been  considered  in 
the  preceding  pages.  The  following  is  also  moral  on  many 
occasions,  though  its  influence  is  still  greater  on  religious 
manifestations. 

XIV.    Organ  of  Reverence. 

Gall,  viewing  the  actions  of  man,  and  considering  the  vast 
variety  of  characters  in  the  world,  observed  a  great  difference 
upon  the  point  of  religion.  Some  are  eminently  devout,  and 
pray  with  great  fervor;  others  pay  very  little  attention  to 
acts  and  forms  of  religion.  In  examining  the  head,  in  rela- 
tion to  this  difference  among  individuals,  he  found  that  the 

15 


PHRENOLOGY 


very  pious  were  frequently  bald ;  it  was  evident,  however,  that 
baldness  could  not  cause  devotion;  for  every  bald  man  is  not 
pious,  and  women,  though  they  do  not  grow  bald,  are  in 
general  devout.  He  then  saw  that  the  heads  of  pious  people 
were  very  elevated.  {FL  VIII.  fig,  1.  XIV,)  Lavater  had 
already  made  the  same  observation. 

Priests  who  have  chosen  the  ecclesiastical  state  from 
natural  inclination,  and  those  who  have  entered  it  influenced 
by  circumstances  or  peculiar  motives,  as  well  as  religious  and 
irreligious  persons,  present  very  different  configurations  of 
the  upper  part  of  the  head. 

The  best  artists  would  seem  to  have  felt  the  influence  of  an 
elevated  head,  for  they  have  always  given  this  form  to  their 
pictures  of  saints,  of  holy  personages,  and  particularly  of 
Jesus.  We  cannot  flatter  ourselves  with  having  the  true 
portrait  of  Jesus,  but  it  would  be  interesting  to  inquire 
whether  painters  have  composed  such  representations  as  we 
possess,  guided  by  an  internal  impulse,  or  from  having 
observed  devout  and  benevolent  men ;  in  the  same  way  as  the 
ancient  artists  sculptured  Jupiter  with  the  forehead  of  a 
mighty  genius. 

Observation,  then,  shows  that  persons  naturally  devout 
have  very  elevated  heads,  and  Gall  assigns  the  feeling  to  the 
cerebral  part  immediately  behind  the  organ  of  benevolence; 
this  he  formerly  called  the  organ  of  theosophy.  He  adopted 
that  name  from  Lavater,  who  speaks  of  a  configuration  of 
theosophy;  but  it  is  certainly  incorrect,  since  we  cannot 
flatter  ourselves  that  we  know  God ;  we  can  only  form  notions 
of  the  Deity  according  to  our  own  nature;  we  anthropomor- 
phise  and  attribute  to  him  all  the  superior  faculties  of  man 
in  their  highest  state  of  perfection;  but  who  would  venture 
to  say,  that  the  Supreme  Being  does  not  possess  many  other 
faculties  of  which  we  have  not  the  slightest  notion  ?  We  can 
speak  only  of  a  Supreme  Being  without  determining  the 
whole  of  his  nature.  To  understand  his  nature  we  ought  to 
be  his  equals.  History  also  shows  that  the  sentiment  of 
devotion  has  neither  revealed  the  nature  of  God,  nor  the 
number  of  divinities.    The  ancients  adored  many  gods  and 


ORGAN  OF  REVERENCE 


227 


goddesses;  and  since  the  unity  of  God  was  believed,  he  has 
been  represented  as  endowed  with  very  different  qualities. 

Gall  finally  called  the  organ  of  that  sentiment  manifested 
in  devotion,  the  organ  of  God  and  religion.  He  thought  that 
it  proves  the  existence  of  God,  and  said,  ^  as  every  other 
faculty  of  man  and  animals  has  an  object  which  it  may 
accomplish,  it  is  not  possible  that  while  there  is  an  organ  of 
religion,  God  should  not  exist;  hence,  God  exists.' 

This  faculty,  however,  is  a  sentiment ;  it  is  blind,  and  does 
not  reveal  the  existence  of  any  object.  Farther,  though 
devout  persons  have  elevated  heads,  yet  not  every  one  who 
possesses  the  cerebral  part  in  question  large  is  devout  and 
religious.  In  all  the  busts  and  portraits  of  Voltaire  it  is 
represented  as  much  developed;  and  certainly  he  was  not 
religious.  I  have  also  found  the  organ  very  considerable  in 
an  individual,  who  assured  me  that  he  did  not  believe  in  the 
existence  of  God.  Man,  in  my  opinion,  arrived  at  the  belief 
in  a  Supreme  Being  by  means  of  his  reflective  faculties, 
since  that  is  an  effect  without  cause.  Gall  first  observed  this 
organ  in  individuals  in  the  act  of  adoring  God,  and  saints 
in  the  exercise  of  devotion.  My  observations  induce  me  to 
consider  its  special  faculty  as  the  sentiment  of  reverence  in 
general,  without  determining  either  the  object  to  be  revered, 
or  the  manner  of  reverence  to  be  bestowed.  By  its  agency 
man  adores  God,  venerates  saints,  and  respects  persons  and 
things.  What  indeed  can  be  more  natural  than  to  venerate 
in  any  way  the  Being  who  is  considered  as  the  Cause  of  all 
things  ?  I  have  already  appealed  to  the  history  of  the 
ancients,  who  admitted  a  greater  or  less  number  of  gods,  and 
venerated  them  in  various  ways.  Without  going  so  far  back, 
we  may  take  at  the  present  time  nations  and  individuals, 
who  have  all  different  ideas  of  God,  according  to  their  creeds 
and  intellectual  faculties,  in  proof  of  my  position  that  this 
faculty  does  not  determine  the  object  to  be  venerated,  nor 
the  manner  of  venerating.  Its  application  to  religion  is  very 
noble,  but  it  finds  also  many  other  objects  in  society.  It 
produces  deference  and  respect  towards  parents,  tutors,  and 
superiors  in  general.    I  therefore  prefer  the  name  of  rever- 


028 


PHRENOLOGY 


ence  to  that  of  veneration,  since  the  latter  disposes  to  think 
of  religious  veneration  and  adoration. 

The  sentiment  of  reverence,  though  essential  to  religion, 
does  not  include  the  whole  of  the  ideas  comprised  in  that 
name;  it  only  occasions  the  part  called  worshipping.  Its 
determinate  actions  depend  on  its  combinations  with  other 
faculties,  and  on  the  direction  it  has  received  from  education. 
By  far  the  greater  number  of  persons  do  what  they  are 
taught  to  believe  agreeable  to  God.  One  sings  psalms, 
another  repeats  ten  or  twenty  or  more  times  the  same  form 
of  prayer;  one  eats  vegetables,  another  burns  candles,  &c. 
and  all  this  to  the  glory  of  God. 

The  functions  of  this  sentiment  are  at  one  time  moral  and 
at  another  religious;  combined  with  benevolence  and  justice, 
it  respects  truth  and  contributes  to  the  happiness  of  others; 
separated  from  these  feelings,  however,  and  united  with  self- 
ishness, self-esteem,  destructiveness,  and  the  religious  senti- 
ments which  I  shall  examine  hereafter,  it  may  do  great  harm 
to  humanity,  though  its  tendency  be  eminently  religious. 
Let  us  respect  truth,  talent,  and  virtue,  but  not  falsehood, 
stupidity,  or  immorality;  true  merit,  but  not  mere  appear- 
ance and  external  show,  liberty  but  not  oppression.  Let  us 
adore  the  God  of  true  Christianity  in  spirit  and  in  truth,  by 
moral  actions,  but  not  by  superstitious  ceremonies,  and 
childish  amusements. 

XV.    Organ  of  Firmness. 

A  peculiar  natural  sentiment  that  varies  in  individuals 
and  nations,  is  frequently  exhibited  in  our  intercourse  with 
mankind.  Some  children  yield  readily,  others  are  obstinate 
and  stubborn.  Some  grown-up  persons,  also,  can  scarcely  be 
said  to  have  a  will  of  their  own ;  they  follow  the  last  impulse 
they  receive,  and  without  strength  to  resist,  are  the  easy 
instruments  of  all  whom  they  meet.  Others  are  of  an  im- 
movable character,  firm  in  their  resolutions,  and  constant  in 
their  principles ;  they  do  not  attend  to  exhortations  nor  to 
examples;  their  conduct  is  uniform,  and  their  exertions  may 
be  calculated  on  in  various  situations  of  life. 


ORGAN  OF  FIRMNESS 


229 


Lavater  observed,  that  persons  endowed  with  perseverance 
and  firmness,  had  the  top  of  their  heads  very  much  developed. 
Gall  made  the  same  remark,  and  so  many  facts  bearing  on  this 
point  have  been  collected,  that  we  consider  the  organ  of  this 
sentiment  as  established.     (PL  V.  and  PI.  VI .  fig.  2.  XV.) 

It  is  not  easy  to  define  the  feeling  accurately,  which  in- 
heres in  the  part  just  pointed  out.  Its  effects  are  often  called 
will;  but  will,  in  the  true  sense,  is  rather  the  result  of 
reflection  than  of  any  of  the  propensities  or  sentiments.  It 
is  true,  that  persons  endowed  with  this  feeling  in  a  high 
degree,  constantly  say,  I  will,  but  they  employ  I  luill  in  the 
same  way  and  with  the  same  signification  as  is  expressed  by 
the  words,  I  want,  I  desire,  I  insist  upon,  I  command.  The 
faculty  here  spoken  of  gives  constancy  and  perseverance  to 
the  other  powers,  contributing  to  maintain  their  activity. 
It  is  another  ingredient  of  the  love  of  dominion.  Its  applica- 
tions bear  different  names  as  they  emanate  from  its  combina- 
tion with  other  faculties,  and  relate  to  the  situation  of  the 
individuals  in  whom  it  is  active.  He  who  has  firmness 
combined  with  pride,  ambition  and  selfishness,  does  not 
willingly  obey  others,  but  is  himself  fond  of  commanding; 
whilst  he  who  is  firm  in  his  decision,  but  just  and  benevolent 
at  the  same  time,  seeks  for  independence,  claims  equal  rights 
with  every  member  of  the  community,  and  requires  the  same 
duties  of  all.  The  influence  of  the  faculty  is  always  great, 
as  well  when  the  individual  is  well  as  when  he  is  ill  disposed, 
that  is,  according  as  it  is  combined  with  the  superior  or 
inferior  feelings. 

Being  too  active,  it  produces  many  disorders,  such  as 
infatuation,  stubbornness,  obstinacy,  and  disobedience;  it  is 
also  one  of  the  causes  of  mutiny  and  sedition ;  its  insufii- 
ciency  leaves  the  other  faculties  to  take  the  lead,  and  renders 
men  inconstant,  changeable,  and  yielding  to  circumstances. 
It  is  however  to  be  remarked  that  perseverance  in  the  gratifi- 
cation of  predominant  dispositions  may  be  observed  in 
persons  whose  organ  of  firmness  is  small.  An  individual 
with  large  acquisitiveness,  and  small  firmness,  may  make 
great  and  constant  efforts  to  become  rich,  but  he  will  be 


230 


PHRENOLOGY 


unsteady  in  the  means  he  employs;  whilst  another,  with 
large  firmness,  steadily  pursues  the  plan  he  adopts. 

The  seat  of  the  organ  has  already  been  indicated;  it  is  in 
the  midst  of  the  other  feelings,  and  seems  to  strengthen  their 
general  activity. 

XVI.    Organ  of  Conscientiousness. 

The  manifestations  of  a  feeling  of  justice  and  conscien- 
tiousness, or  the  love  of  truth  and  duty,  are  eminently 
deserving  of  attention  in  the  study  of  mankind.  Many 
jurisconsults  and  other  persons  connected  with  the  law,  think 
that  positive  legislation  is  the  source  of  justice,  whilst  the 
sentiment  of  justice,  in  reality,  precedes  legislation  and  is  its 
cause.  Those  are  also  wrong  who  maintain  that  revealed 
religion  has  produced  the  feeling  of  justice  or  righteousness ; 
whilst  the  feeling  of  conscience  is  innate  and  indirect  only 
in  its  application  by  revelation.  But  before  proceeding 
farther,  let  us  distinguish  two  significations  of  the  word 
justice.  It  means  the  innate  faculty  which  views  all  actions 
in  the  point  of  right  or  wrong,  and  it  indicates  determinate 
actions  as  being  just  or  unjust.  Revealed  religion  and  civil 
legislation  determine  that  which  is  positively  just  or  unjust, 
but  it  must  be  ascertained  whether  there  is  a  fundamental 
sentiment  which  disposes  mankind  to  look  and  to  wish  for 
justice,  and  which  receives  the  positive,  civil,  or  religious 
legislation.  I  use  the  term  justice  in  conscientiousness  in 
the  first  signification. 

In  speaking  of  benevolence,  I  have  shown  that  Gall  con- 
founds this  primitive  sentiment  with  that  of  justice.  _We 
therefore  differ  in  our  explanations  of  the  phenomena  of 
morality,  he  ascribing  them  all  to  a  single  faculty,  and  I 
admitting  two  different  sentiments,  one  of  benevolence  and 
another  of  conscientiousness.  In  the  same  manner  he  con- 
siders the  notions  of  man  on  the  existence  of  God  and  of 
religion  as  the  result  of  one  faculty,  whilst  I  think  that 
several  feelings,  each  dependent  on  a  special  organ,  are 
concerned  in  producing  religious  ideas. 

It  is  certain  that  the  feeling  of  duty  or  conscientiousness 

f 


ORGAN  OF  CONSCIENTIOUSNESS 


331 


is  not  equally  strong  in  all  men.  Children,  before  they  have 
received  any  education,  are  very  different  in  this  respect. 
Some  pay  no  attention  to  representations  on  the  point  of 
justice,  others  listen  to  them  with  pleasure.  Children,  how- 
ever, in  general  seem  to  possess  the  feeling  of  justice  in  a 
higher  degree  than  adult  persons.  Among  the  latter  some 
have  an  internal  monitor  which  constantly  advises  them  of 
their  duties,  and  without  having  the  law  they  do  that  which 
the  law  prescribes.  But  those  who  think  that  this  internal 
monitor  or  primitive  feeling  is  the  best  guide  of  innocence, 
and  the  sure  punisher  of  those  who  act  in  opposition  to  its 
dictates,  are  greatly  mistaken;  for  it  is  quite  obvious  that 
the  natural  feeling  of  conscientiousness  is  very  weak  in  many 
individuals,  and  that  the  law  or  the  regulations  of  a  watchful 
police  are  indispensably  necessary  to  keep  them  in  order. 
Very  few  look  always  and  only  for  truth,  and  receive  it  from 
whatever  source  it  comes.  It  is,  for  instance,  not  predomi- 
nant in  those  who  may  say  of  the  assassination  of  a  prince, 
it  is  more  than  a  crime,  it  is  a  fault/  'Nor  can  it  be  con- 
siderable in  an  author,  who  writes,  Reproach  others  for 
nothing,  and  repent  of  nothing.  The  doer  of  ill  must  be 
destroyed  not  punished,  the  doer  of  good  is  lucky  not 
virtuous;  this  is  the  first  step  of  wisdom.  Plutarch,  in  the 
life  of  Flaminius,  remarks,  that  of  all  virtues  the  rarest  is 
justice.  It  is  also  certain,  that  he  who  is  dragged  into 
criminal  acts  by  very  strong  internal  propensities  unbalanced 
by  the  feeling  of  justice,  rarely  feels  compunction  for  his 
misdeeds,  or  repents  sincerely.  The  brute  inclinations  con- 
stiti^e,  if  I  may  so  express  myself,  his  principal  character, 
and  all  the  actions  which  result  from  them  are  in  harmony 
with  his  inclinations. 

This  fatal  truth,  though  it  my  displease  those  who  dream 
of  nothing  but  the  dignity  of  human  nature,  is  nevertheless 
proved  by  observation,  and  is  conformable  to  Christianity. 
^  A  good  tree,'  said  J esus,*  '  cannot  bring  forth  evil  fruit, 
neither  can  a  corrupt  tree  bring  forth  good  fruit'    '  The 

*Matt.  vii.  18. 


QS2 


PHRENOLOGY 


natural  man/  says  the  Apostle  Paul/^  '  receives  not  the 
things  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  for  they  are  foolishness  unto  him, 
neither  can  he  know  them,  because  they  are  spiritually  dis- 
cerned.' Cardinal  Polignac  f  speaks  of  men  who  are  bom 
wicked,  and  to  whom  crime  is  delightful.  ^  Why  should  a 
criminal,'  he  asks,  '  who  does  not  consider  himself  wicked,  re- 
pent ? '  Indeed  the  greatest  criminals  do  not  commonly 
think  themselves  guilty,  and  therefore  cannot  repent.  Some 
of  them  with  incredible  stubbornness  deny  the  most  satisfac- 
tory proofs  of  their  guilt,  and  audaciously  insult  those  who 
bear  witness  against  them;  others,  with  impudent  sincerity, 
relate  a  series  of  horrible  trespasses,  and  find  a  subject  of 
merriment  in  such  crimes  as  make  humanity  shudder.  Mr. 
Bruggmanns,  at  Leyden,  showed  us  the  skull  of  a  robber 
chief,  who  had  precipitated  different  persons  into  the  canals, 
only  to  have  the  pleasure  of  seeing  them  struggling  in  the 
agonies  of  death.  On  his  trial,  this  wretch  said :  ^  What 
will  you  do  with  me — am  I  not  an  honest  man  ? '  We  saw 
a  girl  at  llunster  who  had  assisted  her  mother  to  kill  her 
father,  and  who  did  not  manifest  the  slightest  repentance. 
If  her  crime  was  spoken  of,  she  only  shrugged  her  shoulders. 
In  short,  the  reports  of  the  trials  of  almost  all  inveterate 
criminals  justify  the  observation,  that  there  are  certain  guilty 
persons  who  are  never  guided  by  conscience,  and  who  never 
feel  either  remorse  or  repentance.  Such  beings  are  even 
proud  of  their  power  of  doing  evil,  and  relate  with  pleasure 
the  most  remarkable  stratagems  and  actions  of  their  criminal 
lives. 

Sterne,  (in  Tristam  Shandy,  vol.  i.  p.  140,)  has  a  remark- 
able passage  to  this  effect.  ^  Whenever  a  man's  conscience 
does  accuse  him,  (as  it  seldom  errs  on  that  side)  he  is  guilty; 
and,  unless  in  melancholy  and  hypochondriac  cases,  we  may 
safely  pronounce  upon  it  that  there  is  always  sufficient 
grounds  for  the  accusation.  But  the  converse  of  the  propo- 
sition will  not  hold  true,  viz.  that  whenever  there  is  guilt, 
the  conscience  must  accuse,  and  if  it  does  not,  that  a  man  is 


*1  Cor.  ii.  14.  f  Antilucrecc,  t.  i.  p.  164. 


ORGAN  OF  CONSCIENTIOUSNESS 


therefore  innocent.  This  is  not  factj  so  that  the  common 
consolation,  which  some  good  Christian  or  other,  is  hourly 
administering  to  himself, — that  he  thanks  God  his  mind  does 
not  misgive  him,  and  that  consequently  he  has  a  good  con- 
science, because  he  hath  a  quiet  one,  is  fallacious;  and  as 
current  as  the  inference  is,  and  as  infallible  as  the  rule 
appears,  at  first  sight,  yet  when  you  look  nearer  to  it,  and  try 
the  truth  of  this  rule  upon  plain  facts,  you  see  it  liable  to  so 
much  error,  from  a  false  application,  the  principle  upon 
which  it  goes  so  often  perverted,  the  whole  force  of  it  lost, 
and  sometimes  so  vilely  cast  away,  that  it  is  painful  to  pro- 
duce the  common  examples  of  human  life,  which  confirm  the 
account. 

^  A  man  shall  be  vicious,  and  utterly  debauched  in  his 
principles,  exceptionable  in  his  conduct  to  the  world,  shall 
live  shameless  in  the  open  commission  of  a  sin,  which  no 
reason  or  pretence  can  justify;  a  sin  by  which,  contrary  to 
all  the  workings  of  humanity,  he  shall  ruin  forever  the 
deluded  partner  of  his  guilt,  rob  her  of  her  best  dowry,  and 
not  only  cover  her  own  head  with  dishonor,  but  involve  a 
whole  virtuous  family  in  shame  and  dishonor  for  her  sake. 
Surely  you  Mall  think  conscience  must  lead  such  a  man  a 
troublesome  life;  he  can  have  no  rest  night  or  day  from  its 
reproaches. 

^  Alas !  conscience  had  something  else  to  do  all  this  time, 
than  break  in  upon  him.  Perhaps  he  was  gone  out,  in 
company  with  honor,  to  fight  a  duel,  to  pay  off  some  debt  at 
play,  or  dirty  annuity,  the  bargain  of  his  lust;  perhaps 
conscience  all  this  time  was  engaged  at  home,  talking  aloud 
against  petty  larceny  and  executing  vengeance  upon  some 
such  puny  crimes  as  his  fortune  and  rank  of  life  secured 
him  against  all  temptation  of  committing;  so  that  he  lives 
as  merrily,  sleeps  as  soundly  in  his  bed,  and  at  last  meets 
death  as  unconcernedly,  perhaps  much  more  so,  than  a  much 
better  man. 

'  Another  is  sordid,  unmerciful,  a  strait-hearted  selfish 
wretch,  incapable  either  of  private  friendship,  or  public 
spirit.    Take  notice  how  he  passes  by  the  widow  and  oi'phan. 


PHRENOLOGY 


in  their  distress,  and  sees  all  the  miseries  incident  to  human 
life,  without  a  sigh  or  a  prayer.  Shall  not  conscience  rise 
up  and  sting  him,  on  such  occasions  ?  'No,  thank  God,  there 
is  no  occasion.  I  pay  every  man  his  own ;  I  have  debauched 
no  man's  wife  or  child ;  I  have  no  faithless  vows  or  promises 
to  make  up.  Thank  God,  I  am  not  as  other  men,  adulterers, 
unjust,  or  even  as  this  libertine,  who  stands  before  me. 

'  A  third  is  crafty  and  designing  in  his  nature.  View  his 
whole  life.  It  is  nothing  but  a  cunning  contexture  of  dark 
arts,  and  unequitable  subterfuges,  basely  to  defeat  the  true 
intent  of  all  laws,  plain  dealing  and  the  safe  enjoyment  of 
our  several  properties.  You  will  see  such  an  one  working 
out  a  frame  of  little  designs  upon  the  ignorance  and  per- 
plexities of  the  poor  and  needy  man;  shall  raise  a  fortune 
upon  the  inexperience  of  a  youth,  or  the  unsuspecting  temper 
of  his  friend,  who  would  have  trusted  him  with  his  life. 
When  old  age  comes  on,  and  repentance  calls  him  to  look  back 
upon  his  black  account,  and  state  it  over  again  with  his 
conscience;  conscience  looks  into  the  statutes  at  large,  finds 
no  express  law  broken  by  what  he  has  done,  perceives  no 
penalty  or  forfeiture  of  goods,  sees  no  scourge  waving  over 
his  head,  or  prison  opening  its  gates  upon  him.  What  is 
there  to  afiright  his  conscience.  Conscience  has  got  safely 
entrenched  behind  the  letter  of  the  law,  sits  there  invulner- 
able, fortified  with  cases  and  reports  so  strongly  on  all  sides, 
that  it  is  not  preaching  that  can  dispossess  it  of  its  hold. 

'  A  fourth  man  shall  even  want  this  refuge,  shall  break 
through  all  the  ceremony  of  slow  chicane,  scorns  the  doubtful 
workings  of  secret  plots,  and  cautious  trains,  to  bring  about 
his  purpose ;  see  the  baref  acted  villain,  how  he  cheats,  lies, 
perjures,  robs,  murders;  horrid!  but  indeed  much  better 
was  not  to  be  expected  in  the  present  case.  The  poor  man, 
was  in  the  dark,  his  priest  had  got  the  keeping  of  his 
conscience,  and  all  he  would  let  him  know  of  it  was,  that 
he  must  believe  in  the  Pope,  go  to  mass,  cross  himself,  tell 
his  beads,  be  a  good  catholic;  and  that  this  in  all  conscience 
was  enough  to  carry  him  to  heaven. 


ORGAN  OF  CONSCIENTIOUSNESS 


^  Thus,  conscience,  placed  on  high  as  a  judge  within  us, 
and  intended  bj  our  Maker  as  a  just  and  equitable  one  too, 
by  an  unhappy  train  of  causes  and  impediments,  takes  often 
such  imperfect  cognizance  of  what  passes,  does  its  office  so 
negligently,  often  so  corruptly,  that  it  is  not  to  be  trusted 
alone,  and  therefore  we  find  there  is  a  necessity,  an  absolute 
necessity,  of  joining  another  principle  with  it,  to  aid  if  not 
to  govern  its  determinations.' 

My  only  intention  is  to  prove  that  there  is  a  fundamental 
power  which  seeks  for  justice,  which  is  more  or  less  active  in 
different  individuals,  being  so  weak  in  some  as  to  be  by  no 
means  sufficient  to  restrain  or  to  direct  the  inferior  propensi- 
ties. Weakness  of  the  feeling  of  justice  is  a  lamentable 
cause  of  disorder  in  the  world,  and  is  the  true  source  of 
almost  all  moral  and  political  vices.  This  deficiency  makes 
man  break  engagements  of  all  kinds;  makes  it  necessary  to 
declare  royalty  inviolable,  and  to  make  the  ministers  of 
kings  answerable;  it  is  this  deficiency  also  that  renders 
positive  laws  indispensable  to  keep  the  individual  propen- 
sities in  order.  The  feeling  of  justice  is  the  attribute  of  a 
noble  mind,  and  is  an  essential  condition  of  union  and 
general  happiness. 

Dr.  Guillie,  of  Paris,  in  his  work  on  the  instruction  of 
the  blind,  maintains  that  these  unfortunates  are  naturally 
deprived  of  sensibility,  shame  and  conscience.  Mr.  John 
Joach  Roques  has  answered  and  refuted  this  extraordinary 
accusation  in  the  fifth  volume  of  the  Revue  Encyclopedique.* 
Conscience  is  certainly  independent  of  sight.  The  blind, 
the  deaf,  and  the  dumb,  follow  their  natural  inclinations, 
before  they  have  received  a  moral  education.  The  lower 
feelings  are  predominant  in  the  greater  number  of  them,  as 
well  as  of  other  persons,  and  their  actions,  therefore,  mostly 
resemble  those  of  animals.  Yet  the  want  of  sight  or  of 
hearing  does  not  exclude  either  justice  or  benevolence.  These 
faculties  exist,  and  may  act  independently  of  each  other. 
Convinced  then  that  there  is  in  mankind  a  sentiment  which 


*  Page  610. 


236 


PHRENOLOGY 


seeks  for  justice,  and  that  its  energy  is  very  different  in 
different  individuals,  and  even  in  nations,  I  shall  now 
consider  its  origin. 

I  have  already  explained  and  proved  that  the  sentiment  of 
benevolence  is  not  the  same  as  that  of  conscientiousness. 
Benevolence  may  even  be  contrary  to  justice.  I  may  find  it 
my  interest  to  be  very  benevolent  to  certain  persons.  This 
behavior,  however,  cannot  easily  be  called  just.  Moreover, 
the  morality  of  our  actions  cannot  be  founded  on  religious 
faith  and  hope;  and  still  less  on  selfishness;  such  virtue 
would  degrade  those  who  practice  it.  Hobbes,  however, 
taught,  in  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century,  that  we 
approve  of  virtuous  actions  from  self-love,  knowing  that 
whatever  promotes  the  interest  of  society  has  on  that  very 
account  an  indirect  tendency  to  promote  our  own.  Mande- 
ville,  too,  at  the  beginning  of  the  18th  century,  maintained 
that  man  is  utterly  selfish,  that  he  has  a  strong  appetite  for 
praise,  and  purchases  this  praise  by  moral  virtue.  More- 
over, Hume  thought  utility  the  constituent  or  means  of 
virtue.  Even  Dr.  Paley  is  an  adherent  of  the  selfish  system 
under  a  modified  form.  He  makes  virtue  consist  in  the 
doing  good  to  mankind  in  obedience  to  the  will  of  God  and 
for  the  sake  of  everlasting  happiness.  According  to  him  the 
will  of  God  is  our  rule,  but  private  happiness  our  motive. 
On  the  other  hand,  Cudworth,  Dr.  Hutcheson,  Dr.  Reid, 
Dr.  Price,  Day,  and  Stewart  maintain  the  existence  of  a 
moral  sense,  which  produces  the  sentiment  of  right  and 
wrong  independently  of  any  other  consideration.  Adam 
Smith  (Theory  of  Moral  Sentiments)  admits  an  instinctive 
principle  of  sympathy,  which  leads  us  to  transform  ourselves 
in  imagination  into  the  situation  of  others,  and  compels  us  to 
approve  or  blame  their  conduct,  according  as  we  find  ourselves 
disposed  or  averse  to  participate  in  the  feelings  from  which 
it  springs.  Sympathy  is  an  innate  principle,  but  morality 
an  after-thought,  derived  from  mature  reflection.  Thus,  he 
derives  mediately  conscientiousness  from  reason;  but  the 
desire  to  be  just  in  one's  actions  is  no  science  to  be  taught, 
and  by  no  means  in  proportion  to  the  intellectual  faculties. 


ORGAN  OF  CONSCIENTIOUSNESS 


237 


Do  we  not  see  daily  that  the  moral  conduct  of  many  does  not 
answer  their  intellectual  capacities  ?  I  wish  every  critic  of 
Phrenology  had  shown  as  much  love  of  truth  and  moral 
excellency  as  mental  cleverness. 

It  is  said  that  Socrates  invented  morality  at  Athens;  hut 
Aristides  was  just  before  Socrates  lived,  and  Leonidas  had 
died  for  his  country  before  Socrates  taught,  that  to  love 
our  native  land  was  a  duty.  I  admit  a  fundamental  senti- 
ment of  the  desire  to  be  just,  which,  in  my  opinion,  also 
produces  remorse  or  repentance,  and  constitutes  the  essential 
part  of  moral  conscience.  This  feeling,  however,  does  not 
determine  what  is  just  or  unjust,  right  or  wrong,  true  or 
false.  These  particular  determinations  depend  on  the  other 
faculties  with  which  the  sentiment  is  combined;  thus,  a 
person  endowed  with  conscientiousness  and  some  of  the  lower 
propensities  will  call  that  just,  which  another,  who  possesses 
conscientiousness  combined  with  benevolence  or  reverence, 
will  call  unjust.*  A  criminal  in  stealing  from  the  rich  and 
in  giving  to  the  poor,  may  sometimes  consider  his  actions  as 
just.  The  combination  of  conscientiousness  with  Other 
faculties,  also,  explains  why  various  legislators  have  taken 
such  different  moral  principles  as  the  basis  of  their 
regulations. 

These  latter  considerations  teach  us,  that  we  cannot  trust 
to  the  natural  conscience  of  man  to  perform  that  which  is 
right  and  advantageous  for  all;  first,  because  few  examine 
their  actions  according  to  justice;  and  secondly,  because 
those  who  do  so  are  easily  misled,  and,  influenced  by  their 
individual  faculties,  often  arrive  at  erroneous  conclusions ; 
hence  follows  the  necessity  of  establishing  a  determinate 
justice,  or  the  law.  The  widow  in  Europe  desires  to  have  a 
good  settlement  made  by  a  deceased  husband:  in  India  she 
desires  to  be  burnt  on  his  funeral  pile. 

ISTow,  a  question  of  much  importance  arises:  Is  the  law 
or  positive  justice  arbitrary  ?  or  is  there  a  natural  law  which 

* '  All  the  ways  of  man  are  clean  in  his  own  eyes,  but  the  Lord 
weigheth  the  spirits;  '  Prov.  xvi.  2.  'Every  way  of  a  man  is  right  in 
his  own  eyes,  but  the  Lord  pondereth  the  hearts;  '  Prov.  xxi.  2. 


23S 


PHRENOLOGY 


ought  to  be  universally  acknowledged  and  admitted  as  ob- 
ligatory in  all  countries  ?  Hitherto  masters  have  commanded, 
and  the  law  has  made  sin ;  but  is  there  then  no  morality  that 
is  universal  ?  Chemistry  never  varies,  geometry  and  arith- 
metic ever  remain  the  same;  may  it  not  be  so  with  morality 
likewise  ?  These  considerations  are  philosophical  and 
practical,  and  they,  therefore,  belong  rather  to  the  philosoph- 
ical part  of  Phrenology.  Here  I  confine  my  inquiries  to 
the  fundamental  powers  of  the  mind  and  their  respective 
organs. 

Gall  and  I  differ  widely  in  our  opinions  upon  justice. 
According  to  him,  there  is  no  particular  organ  of  con- 
scientiousness; he  formerly  considered  what  is  called 
conscience  as  resulting  from  the  dominant  character  of  an 
individual,  being  opposed  to  his  particular  actions.  In  this 
view  there  were  consequently  as  many  consciences  as  facul- 
ties; he  even  spoke  of  a  good  and  of  a  bad  conscience, — 
the  first  being  the  opposition  of  the  good,  and  the  second  the 
opposition  of  the  bad  faculties  to  a  particular  action.  Thus, 
if  a  good-natured  man  commit  a  fault  or  offend  any  one,  he 
repents,  and  his  conscience  torments  him  because  he  has 
acted  in  opposition  to  his  dominant  character.  On  the  other 
hand,  a  usurer  and  a  libertine  are  sorry  for  having  neglected 
a  good  opportunity,  the  first  of  deceiving,  the  second  of 
seducing,  some  unsuspecting  and  innocent  person.  Gall 
called  this  opposition  of  the  dominant  character  to  any  line 
of  conduct,  the  natural  conscience ;  but  he  said  that  we  cannot 
trust  to  this,  and  that  it  is  necessary  to  establish  some  positive 
conscience ;  that  is,  to  determine  what  is  to  be  done  and  what 
is  to  be  let  alone,  without  the  individual  desires  of  any  one 
being  considered.  In  consequence:  Thou  shalt  adore  one 
God,  thou  shalt  not  steal,  thou  shalt  not  kill,  &c. 

It  is  certain  that  good-natured  persons  repent  when  they 
have  committed  a  fault.  A  mother,  for  instance,  who  has 
been  dishonored  and  consigned  to  the  most  unfortunate  of 
situations,  may  in  a  moment  of  despair  and  confusion  deprive 
her  new-born  child  of  life ;  but  the  fatal  concourse  of  circum- 
stances being  past,  and  the  natural  sentiments  of  benevolence 


ORGAN  OF  CONSCIENTIOUSNESS 


239 


and  justice  beginning  again  to  act,  she  will  feel  the  contra- 
diction between  her  dominant  character  and  her  action.  At 
Spandan,  in  Prussia,  we  saw  a  man  who,  although  always 
looked  upon  as  good-natured,  had  assassinated  his  wife  in  a 
paroxysm  of  rage.  Existence  ever  afterwards  hung  upon 
him  as  a  heavy  burden.  Yet  it  must  be  remarked  that  the 
opposition  of  the  natural  character  alone  to  any  action  does 
not  constitute  conscience;  a  criminal  will  not  feel  repentance 
for  having  acted  in  a  way  which  may  be  good  in  itself  and 
not  hurtful  to  him.  A  thief  who  voluntarily  gives  a  part  of 
his  booty  to  the  poor  will  not  repent  having  done  so,  unless 
the  act  betrays  him.  Gall,  in  saying  that  usurers  repent 
having  neglected  a  good  opportunity  of  deceiving  others, 
confounds  repentance  or  remorse  with  the  being  sorry  for, 
or  being  displeased.  It  seems  to  me  that  every  organ  not 
being  satisfied,  or  being  disagreeably  affected,  produces  pain 
or  sorrow ;  but  I  cannot  conceive  that  every  faculty  produces 
repentance  or  remorse.  This  as  I  have  said  before,  is  a 
peculiar  affection  of  conscientiousness. 

The  preceding  considerations  farther  induce  me  to  dis- 
approve of  Gall's  division  of  the  conscience  into  natural, 
good  or  bad,  artificial  or  positive.  I  divide  it,  first,  into 
natural  or  absolute,  the  effect  of  conscientiousness  combined 
with  all  the  other  faculties  proper  to  man,  those  which  are 
common  to  man  and  animals  being  held  in  subordination; 
secondly,  into  individual,  'particular,  or  relative,  which  results 
from  the  conscientiousness  of  every  one  combined  with  his 
other  faculties;  thirdly,  into  positive,  which  is  fixed  by 
legislation  whether  divine  or  civil,  as  by  the  commands. 
Thou  shalt  not  eat  meat  on  Fridays  or  Saturdays ;  Thou 
shalt  go  to  church  every  Sunday,  &c.  Thus  the  sentiment  of 
conscientiousness  is  the  basis  of  morality ;  it  raises  our  mind 
to  consider  between  wrong  and  right;  desires  to  be  just; 
thinks  of  duty  and  moral  obligation,  and  loves  truth  without 
determining  justice  on  truth.  This  feeling  in  itself,  like  all 
others,  is  liable  to  aberrations  and  mistakes.  Ravaillac,  the 
murderer  of  Henry  IV.  king  of  France,  and  Louvel,  the 
assassin  of  the  Duke  of  Berry,  and  Inquisitors  speak  of 


PHRENOLOGY 


justice.  This  sentiment  may  excuse  every  cruelty  in 
religious  fanaticism. 

The  organ  of  conscientiousness  is  situated  between  firmness 
and  cautiousness. 

XVII.    Organ  of  Hope. 

I  shall  now  examine  the  affective  powers,  which  besides 
benevolence  are  essential  to  religion,  and  principally  give 
faith  or  belief  in  the  miraculous  part  of  religion ;  or,  as  some 
express  it,  in  the  doctrines  of  religion,  as  if  the  moral  part 
were  not  also  a  doctrine  of  Christianity. 

Gall  considers  hope  as  belonging  to,  or  as  a  part  of  the 
function  of  every  faculty ;  but  I  think  that  he  confounds  this 
peculiar  feeling  with  desire,  or  want.  Every  faculty  being 
active,  desires,  therefore  even  animals  desire ;  but  there  is 
something  more  than  this  in  man — a  peculiar  feeling  which 
is  by  no  means  proportionate  to  the  activity  of  any  other 
faculty.    We  may  desire  ardently,  and  yet  be  without  hope. 

The  sentiment  of  hope  is  indeed  necessary  to  the  happiness 
of  mankind  in  almost  every  situation.  It  often  produces 
more  satisfaction  than  even  the  success  of  our  projects.  Its 
activity,  however,  varies  greatly  in  different  individuals ; 
whilst  some  easily  despair,  others  are  always  elated  and  find 
everything  for  the  best;  constant  hope  sustains  them  in  the 
midst  of  difficulties;  the  first  plan  for  accomplishing  any 
object  having  failed,  only  stimulates  them  to  form  new  ones, 
which  they  confidently  expect  will  succeed.  Those  who  are 
everlastingly  scheming,  or  building  castles  in  the  air,  possess 
this  faculty  in  a  very  high  degree.  It  seems  to  induce  a 
belief  in  the  possibility  of  whatever  the  other  faculties  desire, 
without  producing  conviction;  for  this  results  only  from 
reflection. 

This  sentiment  is  not  confined  to  the  business  of  this  life ; 
but  passing  the  limits  of  present  existence,  it  inspires  hopes 
of  a  future  state,  and  belief  in  the  immortality  of  the  soul, 
which  is  promised  by  Christianity. 

Hope,  like  any  other  faculty,  may  be  too  strong  or  too 
weak.    In  the  former  case  it  induces  us  to  expect  things 


ORGAN  OF  MARVELLOUSNESS 


341 


which  are  unreasonable,  not  founded  on  probability,  or  alto- 
gether impossible.  When  its  energy  is  too  feeble,  on  the 
contrary,  and  circumspection  predominates,  this  is  apt  to 
produce  despair,  melancholy,  lowness  of  spirits,  &c. 

The  organ  of  hope  is  situated  laterally  on  each  side  of 
that  of  veneration. 

The  organs  of  conscientiousness  and  hope,  are  intimately 
connected  on  one  side  with  firmness,  and  on  the  other  with 
acquisitiveness. 

XYIII.    Organ  of  Marvellousness. 

There  is  still  a  sentiment  which  exerts  a  very  great  influ- 
ence over  religious  conceptions,  and  which,  in  my  opinion, 
contributes  more  than  veneration  to  religious  faith.  Some 
find  all  things  natural  and  regulated  by  the  laws  of  creation ; 
many  others  are  amused  with  fictions,  tales  of  wonders,  and 
miraculous  occurrences.  They  find  in  every  passing  event 
extraordinary  and  wonderful  circumstances,  and  are  con- 
stantly searching  after  whatever  can  excite  admiration  and 
astonishment.  This  sentiment  is  to  be  observed  among  man- 
kind at  large,  both  among  savages  and  civilized  nations.  In 
every  age,  and  under  every  sky,  man  has  been  guided  and  led 
by  his  credulity  and  superstition.  The  founders  of  all 
nations  have  had  a  fabulous  origin  ascribed  to  them,  and  in 
all  countries  miraculous  traditions  and  marvellous  stories 
occur  in  ample  abundance.  Almost  all  histories,  until  within 
the  two  last  centuries,  reported  seriously  supernatural  facts. 
Hercules  in  his  cradle  suffocated  serpents;  Romulus  was 
nourished  by  a  she-wolf.  There  are  many  disposed  to  believe 
in  dreams,  sorcery,  amulets,  magic,  astrology,  in  the  mystic 
influence  of  spirits  and  angels,  in  the  power  of  the  devil,  in 
second,  sight,  and  in  miracles  and  incomprehensible  repre- 
sentations of  all  sorts.  Some  also  are  disposed  to  have 
visions,  and  to  see  ghosts,  demons,  and  phantoms.  This 
sentiment  gains  credence  to  the  true  and  also  to  the  false 
prophet,  aids  superstition,  but  is  also  essential  to  the  belief 
in  the  doctrines  of  refined  religion.  It  is  more  or  less  active, 
not  only  in  different  individuals,  but  also  in  whole  nations; 

16 


PHRENOLOGY 


its  functions  are  often  disordered,  constituting  one  form 
of  insanity,  called  demonomania. 

The  legislators  of  antiquity,  aware  of  the  great  influence 
of  this  faculty,  made  frequent  use  of  it  to  enforce  and  to 
confirm  their  laws.  They  spoke  in  the  name  of  God,  of 
angels,  or  of  supernatural  powers.  The  angel  Gabriel 
purified  the  heart  of  Mahomet  when  a  child.  Mahomet 
visited  at  night  the  different  mansions  in  heaven,  and  being 
introduced  by  Gabriel,  he  was  welcome  every  where,  and 
saluted  as  the  greatest  prophet.  Whatever  Mahomet  did  is 
represented  as  miraculous,  and  no  pious  Mahometan  doubts 
of  its  truth.  In  our  own  daj^s,  the  religious  sects  of  Sweden- 
borgians,  Methodists,  Quakers,  and  many  others,  particularly 
demonstrate  its  influence  and  presence.  Men  at  large  have 
a  strong  p-ropensity  to  believe  in  miracles;  but  the  fact  that 
accounts  of  supernatural  agency  prove  so  generally  false,  is 
a  reason  for  looking  upon  them  with  distrust.  Miracles 
indeed  ought  on  this  account  to  be  sifted  more  than  common 
facts.  In  dramatic  representations,  the  introduction  of 
ghosts,  angels,  transformations,  and  supernatural  events,  pro- 
claims its  activity  both  in  the  author  and  in  the  public,  by 
whom  such  exhibitions  are  relished  and  sought  after. 

The  existence  of  this  feeling  is  certain.  This  disposition 
is  inherent,  or  part  of  our  mental  constitution,  like  the 
disposition  to  trace  effects  to  adequate  causes.  Its  organ  is 
situated  anterior  to  hope,  and  a  great  developement  of  the 
convolutions  on  which  it  depends  enlarges  and  elevates  the 
superior  and  lateral  parts  of  the  frontal  bone.  It  is  remark- 
ably prominent  in  the  head  of  Socrates,  of  Torquato  Tasso, 
Dr.  Price,  Young,  Stilling,  Wesley,  &c.  My  observations  on 
it  are  extremely  numerous,  and  I  consider  it  as  established. 

The  preceding  facts  determined  me  formerly  to  designate 
this  feeling  by  the  name  of  supernaturality ;  and  it  is  certain 
that  it  is  principally  manifested  by  a  belief  in  miraculous 
and  supernatural  circumstances,  in  the  foundation  of  religion 
by  supernatural  means,  and  in  its  points  called  doctrines. 
As,  however,  the  feeling  may  be  applied  both  to  natural  and 
supernatural  events,  and  in  every  case  fills  the  mind  with 


ORGAN  OF  IDEALITY 


243 


amazement  and  surprise,  I  do  not  hesitate  to  change  the 
name  of  supernaturality  into  that  of  marvellousness.  This 
name  I  prefer  to  that  of  wonder^  adopted  by  Mr.  Combe, 
because,  according  to  Dr.  Johnson's  dictionary,  wonder  is 
applicable  only  to  surprise  excited  by  natural  objects,  whilst 
marvellousness  embraces  both  kinds  of  astonishment  caused 
by  natural  and  supernatural  circumstances. 

XIX.    Organ  of  Ideality. 

That  ^  a  poet  must  be  born,'  has  passed  into  a  proverb, 
and  education  is  generally  acknowledged  inadequate  to  pro- 
duce poetic  talents.  Children  sometimes  exhibit  such  powers 
previous  to  any  instruction,  and  there  is  the  greatest  differ- 
ence among  adults  in  tlie  capacity.  Pope  says  of  himself,  ^  I 
lisped  in  numbers  for  the  numbers  came.'  Those  who  study 
the  phenomena  of  insanity,  know  that  the  talent  of  poetry 
is  often  excited  and  developed  by  this  diseased  condition. 
'  Several  facts,'  says  Pinel,  ^  seems  so  extraordinary,  that 
they  stand  in  need  of  the  most  respectable  testimonies,  in 
order  to  be  admitted.  I  speak  of  the  poetical  enthusiasm 
which  characterizes  certain  fits  of  mania  when  verses  are 
recited,  which  are  by  no  means  the  result  of  reminiscence 
alone.'  ^  Pinel  mentions  several  of  his  own  observations, 
and  quotes  the  case  of  a  girl  from  Van  Swieten,  who,  during 
her  fits  of  mania,  showed  a  rare  facility  in  making  verses, 
though  previous  to  her  illness  she  had  been  employed  in 
manual  labor,  and  had  never  had  her  understanding 
cultivated  by  education. 

Before  we  left  Vienna,  Gall  had  looked  for  an  organ  of 
poetry,  and  even  observed  that  the  heads  of  great  poets  were 
enlarged  above  the  temples,  in  a  direction  backward  and 
upward;  (PI.  IX.  fig.  2  XIX.)  but  he  spoke  guardedly  on 
this  point  at  that  time.  Since  we  commenced  our  journey, 
however,  we  have  multiplied  observations  and  accumulated 
facts  to  such  an  amount,  that  Gall  admits  an  organ  of  poetry 
as  quite  certain. 

*  Second  edition,  p.  111. 


PHRENOLOGY 


It  is  true,  that  great  poets,  both  of  ancient  and  modem 
times,  Homer,  Pindar,  Euripides,  Sophocles,  Terence,  Ovid, 
Horace,  Ariosto,  Torquato  Tasso,  Shakspeare,  Milton,  Lord 
Byron,  Schiller,  Goethe,  Wieland,  Racine,  Corneille, 
Voltaire,  &c.  &;c.  have  the  cerebral  part,  indicated  above, 
much  developed.  It  seems  to  me,  however,  that  there  is  no 
peculiar  or  single  faculty  of  poetry  in  the  widest  acceptation 
of  that  term.  We  must  therefore  determine  the  essential  of 
every  kind  of  poetry,  which  I  am  inclined  to  attribute  to  this 
organ  as  its  special  faculty,  whilst  the  species  of  poetry 
produced,  depends  on  the  combination  of  this  with  the  other 
faculties  of  the  individual  poet.  It  cannot  be  the  faculty  of 
versification;  for  some  authors,  J.  J.  Rousseau,  Buffon,  and 
many  others,  write  in  prose,  and  yet  their  expressions  are 
highly  poetical ;  while  others  make  verses  which  contain  no 
tinge  of  poetic  feeling.  Still  less  is  it  the  faculty  of 
rhyming,  since  among  the  ancients  rhyme  was  entirely 
unknown,  and  among  the  moderns  poetry  is  not  always  in 
rhyme. 

i^ow  all  great  poets  have  this  part  of  the  brain  much 
developed,  but  all  who  have  it  large  are  not  necessarily  great 
poets,  though  they  may  be  fond  of  poetical  conceptions. 
Women  illustrate  this  point;  they  often  possess  the  organ 
much  developed,  are  fond  of  poetry,  but  seldom  excel  in  its 
composition. 

I  think  that  the  poetic  turn  of  mind  results  from  a  peculiar 
mode  of  feeling,  a  certain  manner  of  viewing  the  world  and 
events.  A  plain,  unadorned  description  of  things  as  they 
are,  cannot  be  called  poetry;  vividness,  glow,  exaltation, 
imagination,  inspiration,  rapture,  and  warmth  in  the  expres- 
sions, are  requisite  to  constitute  compositions  worthy  of  the 
name;  all  is  represented  in  exaggerated  terms,  in  a  state  of 
perfection,  such  as  it  ought  to  be.  Poets  picture  forth  a 
factitious  and  imaginary  Avorld.  Thus  I  admit  a  sentiment 
which  vivifies  the  other  faculties,  and  impresses  a  peculiar 
character  called  poetical  or  ideal.  It  may  be  combined  with 
both  the  affective  and  intellectual  faculties,  and  aspires  to 
imaginary  perfection  or  completion  in'  every  thing.  It 


ORGAN  OF  MIRTHFULNESS 


945 


produces  the  sublime  in  the  arts,  makes  enthusiasts  of  us  in 
friendship,  virtue,  painting,  music,  or  any  other  direction 
which  our  natural  feelings  or  talents  take.  Combined  with 
attachment,  it  produces  sentimentality;  with  the  higher 
sentiments  it  leads  to  nobleness  and  delicacy  of  character; 
with  self-esteem  and  love  of  approbation  it  causes 
susceptibility. 

The  organ  of  this  sentiment  is  placed  by  the  side  of 
marvellousness,  and  the  two  frequently  act  together,  par- 
ticularly in  mythology.  Poetry  is  often  embellished  by  the 
addition  of  the  mysterious  and  supernatural.  I  have  col- 
lected many  facts  on  this  organ,  and  am  quite  certain  that 
its  function  corresponds  to  the  manner  of  feeling  just  now 
described.  The  degree  of  exaltation  experienced  by  poets 
varies  according  to  its  greater  or  smaller  developement. 

Too  great  activity  of  the  sentiment  is  a  frequent  cause  of 
unhappiness,  since  it  makes  us  look  for  a  state  of  things, 
which,  as  it  does  not  exist,  we  cannot  find.  I  call  its  organ 
that  of  Ideality.    It  is  small  in  criminals. 

XX.    Organ  of  Mirthfulness. 

There  is  something  peculiar  in  the  human  mind,  called 
Witz  by  the  Germans,  and  Wit  by  the  English,  terms  which 
have  no  exact  equivalent  among  the  French,  though  the 
mental  operation  they  express  is  very  active  in  France.  I 
explain  this  peculiarity  by  the  combinations  of  the  faculty, 
producing  wit,  with  others,  being  different  in  Germany, 
England,  and  France.  The  French,  eminently  endowed  with 
love  of  approbation,  search  constantly  after  distinction ;  they 
are  consequently  fond  of  merry  sayings  and  showy  expres- 
sions, delight  in  what  are  called  hon  mots,  esteem  the  esprit 
de  saillie  et  de  repartie,  and  designate  facility  in  these 
particulars  by  the  name  hel  esprit.  The  Germans  and 
English,  on  the  other  hand,  frequently  combine  the  faculty 
in  question  with  that  of  reflection,  and  call  it  Witz  and  Wit. 

Those  who  write  like  Voltaire,  Habelais,  Piron,  Sterne, 
Rabener,  Wieland,  and  all  who  are  fond  of  jest,  raillery. 


PHRENOLOGY 


ridicule,  irony  and  comical  conceptions,  have  the  upper  and 
outer  parts  of  the  forehead,  immediately  before  the  organ  of 
ideality,  of  considerable  size. 

It  is  difficult  to  define  the  primitive  faculty  whose  exhibi- 
tion accompanies  this  organization.  Gall  considers  it  as  an 
intellectual  power,  and  calls  it  in  French,  esprit  de  saillie,  or 
esprit  caustique,  though  he  allows  that  this  name  does  not 
indicate  Witz  or  Wit.  I  repeat  that,  in  my  opinion,  these 
words  denote  compound  operations  of  the  mind.  Wit  is 
commonly  said  to  consist  in  facility  of  comparing  objects,  in 
order  to  discover  their  similarity  or  dissimilarity.  But  one 
may  have  the  greatest  talent  for  comparing  ideas  or  objects, 
without  possessing  wit.  The  mode  of  comparing  philo- 
sophically also  differs  very  widely  from  that  of  comparing 
wittily ;  a  comparison  may  be  witty,  but  philosophically 
erroneous  at  the  same  time. 

I  do  not  consider  the  faculty  as  intellectual,  but  as  affec- 
tive; as  a  sentiment  which  disposes  men  to  view  every  thing 
in  a  gay,  joyful  and  mirthful  manner.  It  may  be  applied 
to  words,  to  things,  to  ideas,  to  arts,  and  to  every  mental 
manifestation.  Hence  the  different  names  it  receives  from 
its  modified  functions,  such  as  wit,  good-humor,  caricature, 
mockery  and  irony.  The  poet,  painter,  sculptor,  draughts- 
man, musician,  orator,  &c.  often  proclaim  its  activity  in  their 
productions.  Combined  with  inferior  feelings,  and  not 
restrained  by  benevolence,  reverence  and  justice,  it  is  apt  to 
offend  by  sarcasms,  epigrams,  and  satires. 

The  faculty,  it  seems  to  me,  was  given  to  man  to  render 
him  merry  and  gay, — feelings  not  to  be  confounded  with 
satisfaction  or  contentment;  these  are  affections  of  every 
faculty,  whilst  gaiety  and  mirthfulness  belong  to  that  which 
now  occupies  our  attention.  Its  organ  is  situated,  as  I  have 
said,  in  the  upper  and  lateral  part  of  the  forehead,  before 
the  organ  of  ideality.    (PI.  IX.  fig.  1.  XX.) 

Mr.  William  Scott,  of  Edinburgh,  has  taken  a  particular 
view  of  this  faculty.  He  believes  that  its  primitive  function 
is  to  distinguish  differences.  According  to  him,  the  faculty 
of  comparison  perceives  resemblance ;  the  one  we  speak  of  in 


ORGAN  OF  MIRTHFULNESS 


247 


particular,  differences;  and  causality,  situated  between  the 
two,  necessary  connexion:  the  three  combined,  therefore, 
form  the  truly  philosophic  understanding. 

Mr.  G.  Combe  formerly  thought  well  of  this  view,  and 
therefore  preserved  the  number  and  name  of  this  organ,  as 
they  stand  in  the  two  first  editions  of  my  Physiognomical 
System.  In  my  French  publication  I  changed  these,  as  I 
considered  the  name  wit  insufficient,  and  the  faculty  so 
styled,  a  feeling.  I  continue  to  do  so,  being  more  and  more 
convinced  that  the  alteration  is  proper.  Mr.  Combe,  in  his 
third  edition,  both  of  his  Elements  and  of  his  System  of 
Phrenology,  has  adopted  my  new  order  of  numbering  the 
organs,  and  seems  disposed  to  adopt  my  view  of  this  special 
faculty.  As  to  the  view  taken  by  Mr.  William  Scott,  I 
reply,  that  in  my  opinion  the  same  power  which  perceives 
resemblances,  perceives  differences  also.  I  see  no  reason  for 
adopting  two  faculties  for  the  act  of  discrimination.  The 
same  power  perceives  the  harmony  and  disharmony  of  tones ; 
there  is  only  one  power  of  coloring;  and  the  proportion  and 
disproportion  in  dimensions  are  felt  by  the  same  faculty  of 
size;  in  the  same  way,  I  think  that  comparison  alone 
distinguishes  similitudes  and  dissimilitudes,  differences, 
analogies  or  identities.  But  even  granting  Mr.  William 
Scott's  supposition  of  one  power  for  perceiving  resemblances, 
and  another  for  perceiving  differences,  I  still  think  it  neces- 
sary to  admit  a  special  feeling  of  mirthfulness.  We  may 
excite  mirthfulness,  it  is  true,  by  making  comparisons  of 
things  which  differ,  but  we  may  do  so  also  by  comparing 
things  which  resemble  each  other.  If  amidst  incongruity 
and  difference  we  seek  for  analogies,  the  faculty  of  compari- 
son is  active,  and  combined  with  mirthfulness  it  will 
undoubtedly  make  us  laugh.  But  we  may  laugh  heartily 
at  a  single  object,  without  allusion  to  any  difference.  Those 
who  are  the  most  disposed  to  laugh  and  to  be  merry,  are  not 
always  the  most  intelligent  and  the  most  skilful  in  distin- 
guishing either  analogies  or  differences.  The  feeling  of 
mirthfulness,  therefore,  seems  to  be  special.  It  may  be 
excited  by  pointing  out  differences  or  resemblances,  by  the 


348 


PHRENOLOGY 


agency  of  various  feelings,  by  playing  tricks,  or  by  inspiring 
fear.  The  fundamental  power  then  cannot  be  wit.  This  is 
only  one  of  its  applications,  and  results  from  its  combination 
with  intellect.  Mr.  William  Scott,  in  his  well  elaborated 
article  on  wit  and  the  feeling  of  the  ludicrous  (Phrenological 
Journal,  'No.  xiv.  p.  195)  thinks  that  the  review  I  formerly 
took  of  this  faculty  is  more  correct  than  that  which  I  now 
entertain ;  and  that  it  is  an  intellectual  power  which  compares 
for  the  purpose  of  discovering  contrasts,  and  of  bringing 
together  incongruous,  disproportionate  and  opposite  ideas. 
I  grant  that  wit  requires  comparison  and  a  contrast,  be  it 
incongruity,  or  even  absurdity;  in  mean,  burlesque  or  digni- 
fied objects;  be  it  in  travesting,  exaggerating  or  diminishing 
reality ;  but  I  see  no  proof  that  these  mental  operations  result 
from  the  faculty  in  question  alone,  and  therefore  from  an 
intellectual  faculty.  Religion  becomes  reasonable  by  the 
influence  of  the  reflective  powers ;  religion,  however,  depends 
primitively  on  the  feelings.  Why  then  should  not  a  peculiar 
feeling  excite  comparison,  in  a  way  that  its  functions  are 
ludicrous  or  laughable ;  dignity  or  meanness,  exaggeration  or 
diminution,  are  neither  the  efl^ect  of  comparison,  nor  of  the 
peculiar  feeling  now  under  examination,  but  of  other  feel- 
ings. Hence,  if  the  power  we  wish  to  determine  appears 
under  various  modifications,  this  happens  on  account  of  its 
combination  with  other  affective  or  intellectual  faculties ;  the 
ludicrous,  mirthful,  or  comical  alone  remains  essential,  but 
it  becomes  wit  by  contrasting,  or  by  a  peculiar  mode  of  acting 
in  comparison,  and  absurdity  by  contrasting  in  opposition  to 
the  laws  of  reason.  The  comic  tendency  of  this  power  is 
constant,  but  the  perception  of  differences  does  not  seem 
to  be  its  essence;  since  persons  may  easily  feel  differences 
or  even  see  the  contrast,  without  wishing  to  amuse  or  without 
being  amused.  I  therefore  propose  for  this  faculty  the  name 
of  mirthfulness.  Its  organ  is  before  the  organ  of  ideality, 
and  above  that  of  tune.  It  is  remarkable  that  the  anterior, 
lateral,  and  upper  region  of  the  brain  contains  the  organs  of 
such  powers  as  seem  to  be  given  particularly  for  amusements, 
and  theatrical  performances.    The  next  also  belongs  to  them. 


ORGAN  OF  IMITATION 


349 


XXI.    Organ  of  Imitation, 

Gall  would  not  probably  have  thought  of  searching  for  the 
organ  of  a  faculty  for  imitating,  had  not  one  of  his  acquaint- 
ances, Mr.  Hannibal,  at  Vienna,  who  possessed  this  power  in 
great  perfection,  and  was  an  excellent  actor,  desired  him  to 
examine  a  transverse  furrow  in  the  middle  of  his  head.  The 
hollow  Gall  found,  but  he  was  more  struck  with  a  considerable 
elevation  of  a  semi-globular  form  before  it.  Shortly  after 
this,  in  the  Institute  for  Deaf  and  Dumb,  he  perceived  a 
configuration  of  the  upper  and  fore  part  of  the  head  exactly 
resembling  that  of  his  friend's,  in  an  individual,  who,  having 
for  the  first  time  put  on  a  mask  at  the  carnival,  imitated 
perfectly  all  those  who  frequented  the  institution.  These 
two  cases  furnished  a  basis  for  further  observation,  and  after 
much  research  both  in  Vienna,  and  during  our  travels,  and 
finding  a  regular  coincidence  between  the  developement  of 
the  cerebral  part  in  the  situation  described  and  the  faculty 
of  imitation,  w^e  admit  its  function  as  demonstrated.  Those 
who  have  it  highly  developed  are  fond  of  acting  and  of 
dramatic  representation ;  they  also  often  imitate  the  gestures, 
voice,  manners,  and  in  general  all  the  manifestations  of  man 
and  animals.    {PI.  IX,  fig.  2.  XXI.) 

The  existence  of  the  faculty  of  imitation  is  proved  in  the 
same  way  as  every  other  primitive  power.  It  is  in  general 
more  active  in  children  than  in  adults ;  and  it  is  known  that 
children  learn  a  great  deal  by  imitation :  they  do  what  they 
see  done  by  others:  they  repeat  what  they  hear  told.  It 
differs  much  in  adults,  and  is  not  at  all  proportionate  to  the 
other  faculties.  Those  who  have  it  large  speak  not  with 
words  only,  they  accompany  all  they  say  with  appropriate 
and  descriptive  gestures,  and  imitate  the  voice,  air  and 
behavior  of  those  who  form  the  subjects  of  their  conversation. 
Sometimes  idiots  from  birth  imitate  much  of  what  they  see 
and  hear.  Cabanis  *  mentions  the  case  of  one  whose  desire 
to  imitate  the  attitudes  and  movements  of  others  was  irre- 

*Du  Rapport  entre  le  Physique  et  le  Moral  de  rhomme,  t.  1. 


250 


PHRENOLOGY 


sistible.  Pinel  ^  relates  the  case  of  an  idiot  female  who 
imitated  all  that  was  done  in  her  presence,  repeated  auto- 
matically what  she  heard  told,  and  imitated  with  great 
correctness  the  gestures  and  gait  of  the  insane  in  the  hospital, 
rinally,  the  correspondence  between  this  natural  capacity 
and  the  state  of  a  certain  organic  apparatus,  proves  beyond 
doubt  the  existence  of  such  a  power. 

Its  sphere  of  activity  is  very  great,  especially  during  in- 
fancy. Some,  throughout  life,  manifest  it  in  an  eminent 
degree,  and  feel  a  peculiar  pleasure  in  theatrical  perform- 
ances. Though  indispensable  to  actors,  it,  however,  of  itself 
neither  constitutes  the  comedian  nor  the  tragedian.  Its 
combinations  with  other  mental  faculties  show  how  far  indi- 
vidual actors  are  fitted  to  play  particular  characters.  Alone, 
the  faculty  does  nothing  but  imitate,  and  any  actor  may  copy 
the  manner  of  playing  of  others,  without  being  capable  of 
conceiving  the  expressions  or  natural  language  of  a  given 
character.  To  do  this,  the  individual  faculties,  which  consti- 
tute that  character,  must  be  combined  with  imitation.  This 
view  explains  why  an  actor  may  be  perfect  in  one  line  and 
scarcely  middling  in  another.  The  possession  of  the  faculty 
of  imitation  is  essential  to  success  in  the  arts  of  drawing, 
sculpture,  and  painting;  it  gives  what  is  called  expression 
and  life.  Without  it  the  productions  of  artists  are  stiff  and 
inanimate.  It  gives  the  facility  of  feeling  and  performing 
dramatic  music,  and  of  acquiring  the  accent  of  foreign 
languages.  It  aids  orators  essentially,  by  regulating  their 
declamation  and  gesticulation.  It  is  the  basis  of  the  talent 
of  ventriloquism. 

The  three  faculties  last  discussed  are  essential  to  theatrical 
performances.  They  most  generally  act  in  combination  with 
the  intellectual  faculties,  but  their  nature  seems  nevertheless 
to  be  rather  affective  than  intellectual. 

It  is  difficult  to  say,  to  what  extent  animals  possess  this 
faculty.  Monkeys  do  various  things  like  man ;  but  is  this  in 
consequence  of  mere  imitation,  or  of  their  having  certain 


*  Second  Edition,  De  I'alienation  Mentale,  p.  99. 


GENERAL  REFLECTIONS 


251 


powers  in  common  with  man  ?  The  latter  part  of  the  ques- 
tion would  seem  to  be  well  answered,  in  many  cases,  in  the 
affirmative.  On  the  same  principle,  the  imitation  of  singing- 
birds  may  be  explained,  rather  by  the  faculty  of  tune,  than 
by  imitation  alone.  The  power  of  tune  perceives,  recollects 
and  repeats  the  song  of  other  birds,  or  of  man ;  yet  I  admit 
that  the  primitive  power  of  imitation  exists  among  many 
tribes  of  the  animal  kingdom.  Parrots  not  only  repeat  har- 
monious tones,  but  all  sorts  even  of  harsh  and  discordant 
noises. 

Gall  attributes  to  imitation  the  pleasure  which  some  per- 
sons feel  in  being  masked.  For  my  part,  I  think  that  the 
love  of  imitating  costumes,  actions  and  gestures,  and  the 
desire  of  concealing  the  face  with  a  mask  or  domino  for  the 
sake  of  intrigue,  cannot  be  confounded  together.  Whenever 
concealment  interferes,  the  organ  of  secretiveness  is  active, 
and  plays  a  principal  part. 

General  Reflections  on  the  Affective  Faculties. 

Reasoning  will  never  refute  the  idea  of  peculiar  organs 
being  necessary  for  the  affective  manifestations  of  the  mind. 
The  mind  in  itself  may  be  simple,  but  observation  shows,  that 
each  sort  of  affective  operation  is  attached  to  a  particular 
part  of  the  brain.  Another  essential  point  is,  that  the 
affective  faculties  depend  on  internal  sources,  that  they  are 
often  active  spontaneously,  and  not  from  the  excitation  of 
external  causes;  moreover,  their  functions  are  always  invol- 
untary ;  and,  finally,  they  exist  independently  of  understand- 
ing, for  they  are  blind  impulses,  and  are  only  enlightened  by 
the  addition  of  reason.  They  are  almost  the  sole  causes  of 
the  variety  of  action  that  degrades  or  exalts  the  human 
character.  It  is  a  just  idea  to  represent  ignorance  as  an  evil 
spirit.  Love,  too,  is  well  figured  with  bandaged  eyes.  Em- 
blematic portraitures  of  all  feelings  might  be  similarly  cir- 
cumstanced ;  for  the  very  highest  sentiments  of  human  nature, 
w^ithout  the  guidance  of  intelligence,  err  incessantly.  How 
necessary  then  to  cultivate  the  powers  which  point  out  the 


952 


PHRENOLOGY 


sources  of  our  errors,  and  how  blasphemous  and  irreverent 
towards  the  great  Creator  every  attempt  to  repress  the  exercise 
of  intelligence !  The  friends  of  humanity  cannot  stigmatize 
sufficiently,  nor  expose  in  too  strong  a  light  to  the  execration 
of  mankind,  that  abomination,  religious  despotism,  which 
interdicts  reason,  and  requires  of  those  who  would  obtain 
eternal  happiness,  blind  faith  and  unenlightened  obedience. 
Such  a  tyranny  can  be  exerted  only  to  continue  errors  of 
every  description,  and  with  these  to  inflict  every  kind  of  evil 
upon  the  world ;  it  even  renders  the  possibility  of  avoiding 
or  correcting  falsehood  unattainable. 

In  treating  of  the  preceding  organs,  I  mentioned  the 
discoveries  of  Gall,  and  added  the  analysis  as  I  found  it 
out,  with  respect  to  the  greater  number  of  their  respective 
faculties,  particularly  of  the  moral  and  religious  feelings. 
Gall  always  derived  the  preceding  powers  from  within,  but 
did  not  admit  their  nature  to  be  merely  affective. 


SECTION  IX. 

Of  Understanding,  or  the  Intellectual  Faculties. 

I  call  intellectual  every  faculty  which  procures  to  man  or 
animals  any  kind  of  knowledge,  cognition  of  any  impression, 
be  it  of  hunger  or  thirst,  of  the  sensation  of  fatigue,  of  pain, 
of  the  affective  functions,  of  the  existence  of  external  objects, 
their  qualities  or  relations.  Knowledge,  then,  is  the  essential 
object  of  the  intellectual  faculties.  I  divide  the  order  of 
intellectual  faculties  into  four  genera,  which  I  shall  investi- 
gate separately  in  as  many  chapters.  In  the  first,  I  shall 
speak  of  the  external  senses;  in  the  second,  of  the  faculties 
which  know  external  objects  and  their  physical  qualities; 
in  the  third,  of  the  faculties  which  procure  notions  of  rela- 
tions ;  and  in  the  fourth,  of  those  which  reason,  or  reflect  on 
the  operations  of  all  the  other  mental  powers. 


EXTERNAL  SENSES 


253 


CHAPTER  I. 

Genus  I. — Of  the  Inteleectuae  Faculties. 

External  Senses. 

The  external  senses  permit  man  and  animals  to  com- 
municate with  the  beings  around  them ;  it  is  by  their  medium 
that  determinate  consciousness  of  the  external  world  is  ac- 
quired; without  them,  man  and  animals  would  only  have 
an  internal  existence,  but  not,  as  Richerand  says,  a  mere 
vegetative  existence.  What  then  can  be  more  interesting  to 
man  than  his  senses,  to  which  he  owes  so  many  sensations,  so 
many  enjoyments  ?  Hence,  the  assiduous  study  of  their 
functions  and  structure  by  philosophers,  physiologists  and 
anatomists,  who  nevertheless  made  little  progress,  and  left 
many  essential  points  in  darkness.  On  the  other  hand, 
various  extravagant  and  contradictory  opinions  have  been 
•fehe  fruit  of  their  labors.  Of  a  few  of  these  I  shall  take  a 
brief  notice. 

I  do  not  remember  that  the  affective  powers  have  ever  been 
derived  from  the  external  senses ;  but  this  is  not  the  case 
in  respect  to  the  intellectual  faculties.  According  to  many 
ancient  philosophers  all  ideas  are  innate,  and  are  only  excited 
by  the  external  senses.  Since  the  time  of  Bacon  and  Locke, 
the  greater  number  of  philosophical  systems  rest  upon  the 
axiom  of  Aristotle,  that  all  ideas  of  the  mind  begin  with 
impressions  furnished  by  means  of  the  external  senses.  Dr. 
T.  Brown  says,*  ^  In  the  external  senses  we  find  the  rude 
elements  of  all  our  knowledge,  the  material  on  which  the 
mind  is  ever  operating,  and  without  which  it  seems  to  us 
almost  impossible  to  conceive  that  it  could  ever  have  operated 
at  all ;  and  could  even  see  its  absolute  activity,  or  have  been 
conscious  of  its  own  internal  existence.'  According  to  this 
principle,  the  perfection  of  the  intellectual  faculties  must 
depend  on  that  of  the  external  senses.  !N'ow  if  the  ideas  and 
sensations  of  man  and  animals  are  either  produced  or  excited 


*  Lectures,  stereotype  edit.  p.  109. 


254> 


PHRENOLOGY 


solely  or  specially  by  one  or  other  of  the  five  senses,  they 
ought  to  manifest  capacities  according  to  external  circum- 
stances and  accidental  impressions;  their  faculties  ought  to 
bear  relation  to  the  state  of  the  five  senses,  and  to  the  educa- 
tion these  have  received;  and  individuals  ought  to  be  sus- 
ceptible of  change  and  modification  at  pleasure.  Daily 
experience,  however,  contradicts  this  hypothesis  with  all  its 
conclusions. 

Another  class  of  philosophers  maintain  that  the  mind  acts 
independently  of  all  organization,  and  that  the  senses  are 
rather  an  impediment  to,  than  instruments  in,  its  action.  They 
complain  much  of  the  illusions  of  sense,  and  despise  all  testi- 
mony and  every  conclusion  grounded  upon  sensation.  Accord- 
ing to  them,  that  only  is  truth  which  may  be  conceived  by  the 
understanding  alone.  If  the  influence  of  external  objects,  of 
social  institutions,  of  education  in  general,  be  denied,  it 
would  be  to  contradict  the  history  of  all  times  and  of  every 
individual.  If  truth  resulted  from  reflection  alone,  it  would 
be  easy  to  establish  general  laws,  and  it  would  be  unnecessary 
painfully  to  collect  a  great  number  of  facts,  and  to  perform 
a  great  number  of  experiments  in  order  to  deduce  general 
principles.  But  history  proves  the  insufiiciency  of  reflection 
alone,  that  is,  of  reflection  unguided  by  experiment. 

Finally,  another  sect  of  philosophers  admits  two  sources 
of  intellectual  manifestations,  an  external  and  an  internal, 
on  one  or  other  of  which  all  are  dependent. 

I  shall  first  consider  some  genj&ralities  of  the  external 
senses:  afterwards  show  that  many  faculties,  attributed  to 
them,  cannot  result  as  effects  of  their  activity,  and,  in  fine, 
examine  the  special  functions  of  each  external  sense. 

Generalities  as  to  the  Five  Extern^al  Senses. 
1.    Douhleness  of  the  Organs, 

The  organs  of  every  external  sense,  as  of  the  functions  of 
animal  life  in  general,  are  double:  there  are  two  eyes,  two 
ears,  two  nerves  of  smell,  of  taste  and,  of  touch.  Some 
authors  have  denied  the  doubleness  of  the  cerebral  organs. 


EXTERNAL  SENSES 


255 


but  the  denial  was  founded  on  their  mistaking  doubleness  for 
symmetry.  It  is  true  that  both  sides  of  the  brain  are  seldom 
symmetrical,  the  right  hemisphere  is  generally  larger  than 
the  left,  but  is  this  want  of  symmetry  not  the  case  with  the 
eyes,  ears,  and  other  double  parts?  Thus  the  want  of  sym- 
metry does  not  prove  that  they  are  not  double.  Indeed  the 
nerves  generally  are  larger  on  the  right  side  of  the  body, 
which  is  also  larger  and  stronger  than  the  left.  It  is  com- 
monly maintained,  that  the  right  hand  and  foot  are  larger 
in  the  generality  of  cases,  because  they  are  more  used  and 
exercised  than  the  left.  But  this  may  be  answered  by  the 
fact  of  the  plurality  of  infants  being  right-handed.  Of  ten 
children  born,  there  are  perhaps  seven  who  from  birth  employ 
the  right  hand  without  any  teaching,  and  though  the  remain- 
ing three  be  taught  to  use  it,  they  nevertheless  feel  greater 
strength  in  the  left.  But  the  superior  power  of  the  right 
hand  is  not  the  result  of  exercise,  for,  as  I  have  said,  all 
parts  of  the  right  side  are  stronger  than  of  the  left,  even  to 
the  hemisphere  of  the  brain. 

Disease,  too,  most  frequently  attacks  the  left  side. 

The  organs  of  animal  life,  then,  are  double,  while  those 
of  vegetative  life  are  mostly  single. 

II.    The  Consciousness  of  every  Sense  is  Single. 

Another  generality  of  the  five  senses  is,  that  while  each 
has  two  sentient  apparatuses,  and  accordingly  receives  double 
impressions,  consciousness  is  still  only  single.  Various 
theories  have  been  offered  of  this  phenomenon,  and  sight  has 
generally  been  examined  in  its  discussion.  The  explanation 
has  been  given  by 

1.  Touch. 

Many  suppose  single  consciousness  to  be  a  consequence  of 
the  information  communicated  by  the  sense  of  touch.  At 
first,  say  they,  objects  are  seen  double,  but  touch  rectifies  the 
error.  This  was  BufFon's  opinion.  He  supported  it  by  the 
following  experiment:  If  we  look  with  both  eyes  towards 
two  objects  in  the  same  direction,  and  fix  our  eyes  upon  the 


256 


PHRENOLOGY 


nearer,  we  see  it  single,  but  at  the  same  time  the  farther 
double;  if,  on  the  contrary,  we  fix  upon  the  farther  object, 
we  see  it  single,  and  the  nearer  double.  This  experiment, 
according  to  Buff  on,  proves  evidently,  that  objects  are  seen 
double,  but  judged  single  by  the  rectification  of  the  touch. 
As  the  same  object,  however,  appears  at  one  time  double, 
and  at  another  single,  how  is  it  possible  to  infer  that  touch 
has  corrected  sight  ?  why  is  the  correction  only  relative, 
referring  now  to  the  nearer,  then  to  the  farther  object?  It 
seems  to  me,  that  a  very  different  conclusion  may  be  drawn 
from  the  experiment,  viz.  that  touch  has  nothing  to  do  with 
sight.  Sight,  and  all  its  modifications  and  allusions,  depend 
on  the  organization  and  position  of  the  eyes  and  on  the  laws 
of  the  refraction  of  light. 

Moreover,  no  one  recollects  ever  having  seen  objects  double 
during  his  infancy.  'None  of  those  bom  blind  who  have 
recovered  their  sight  by  a  surgical  operation,  ever  saw  objects 
double.  JSTeither  have  we  observed  nor  heard  that  animals 
take  single  objects  for  double  ones.  The  butterfly  does  not 
confound  a  flower,  nor  the  lamb  its  mother,  with  their 
shadows.  Even  animals  which  live  during  so  short  a  time, 
that  they  can  never  rectify  their  vision  by  touch,  are  not 
deceived  by  the  multiplicity  of  objects.  Sometimes,  more- 
over, in  morbid  affections  of  the  eyes,  and  from  squinting, 
man  sees  double,  notwithstanding  all  his  preceding  experi- 
ence. It  is  consequently  evident  that  the  cause  of  single 
vision  is  not  to  be  found  in  the  sense  of  the  touch. 

2.    Corresponding  Points. 

Others  explain  single  vision  by  saying,  that  if  the  image 
of  any  object  fall  upon  points  of  the  retina,  which  are  com- 
monly affected  simultaneously,  the  object  appears  single;  but 
if  the  image  fall  upon  different  parts  of  the  retina,  which,  in 
general,  are  not  affected  at  the  same  time,  the  object  appears 
double.  This  explanation  is  very  commonly  received.  Cuvier 
and  Richer  and  admit  it.  It  is  rare,  however,  that  the  same 
corresponding  parts  of  the  retina  in  both  eyes  are  affected  at 
the  same  time. 


EXTERNAL  SENSES 


257 


3.    Inequality  of  the  Eyes. 

Several  again  maintain  that  inequality  of  the  eyes  causes 
the  single  consciousness  of  sight.  According  to  them,  the 
impression  on  the  stronger  is  alone  perceived.  It  is  indeed 
true  that  very  few  have  both  eyes  equally  strong,  conse- 
quently the  impression  upon  each  eye  is  of  unequal  force. 
But  if  only  a  single  impression  were  perceived,  why  should 
we  see  better  with  both  eyes,  and  hear  better  with  both  ears, 
than  with  one? 

4.    Decussation  of  the  Optic  Nerves. 

Ackermann  finds  an  explanation  of  single  vision  in  the 
decussation  of  the  optic  nerves.  Such  an  arrangement,  how- 
ever, does  not  exist  in  the  auditory  nerves.  And  the  single 
consciousness  of  sight,  hearing,  smell  and  taste,  must  all 
necessarily  be  explained  in  the  same  manner. 

5.    Active  State. 

Gall  ventured  to  give  another  and  a  different  explanation. 
He  distinguishes  two  states  of  activity  in  organs  of  the  senses, 
calling  one  active,  the  other  passive.  The  functions  are 
passive  if  performed  independently  of  the  will ;  the  eye,  for 
instance,  necessarily  perceives  the  light  which  falls  upon  it, 
and  the  ear  the  vibrations  propagated  to  it.  !N'ow,  we  perceive 
'passively  with  both  organs,  says  he;  we  see  with  both  eyes, 
hear  with  both  ears,  but  the  active  state  is  confined  to  one 
organ,  and  commonly  to  the  strongest.  We  see  with  both 
eyes  at  the  same  time,  but  we  look  with  one  only;  we 
hear  with  both  ears,  we  listen  only  with  one;  we  feel  with 
both  hands,  we  touch  with  but  one,  &c. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  we  look  with  one  eye  only.  In 
placing  a  pencil  or  any  other  thin  body  between  us  and  a 
light,  keeping  both  eyes  open  and  throwing  the  axis  of  vision, 
the  stick,  and  the  light  into  a  right  line,  did  we  look  with 
both  eyes,  the  pencil  should  occupy  the  diagonal  and  its 
shadow  fall  on  the  nose.  But  this  always  falls  on  one  eye, 
on  that  which  the  person,  who  makes  the  experiment,  or- 

17 


PHRENOLOGY 


dinarilj  uses  in  looking  with  attention.  If  tlie  pencil  be 
kept  in  the  same  position,  and  the  eye  not  employed  in  looking 
be  shut,  the  relative  direction  of  the  objects  will  seem  to 
remain  the  same ;  but  if  he  shut  the  eye  with  which  he  looked, 
it  will  be  altered,  and  the  pencil  will  appear  removed  far 
from  its  former  place.  Again,  let  any  one  look  at  a  point 
but  little  way  distant,  both  eyes  will  seem  directed  towards  it ; 
let  him  then  shut  his  eyes  alternately.  If  he  close  the 
one  with  which  he  did  not  look,  the  other  remains  motion- 
less ;  but  if  he  shut  that  with  which  he  looked,  the  other  turns 
immediately  a  little  inwards,  in  order  to  fix  the  point. 
Moreover,  the  eyes  of  many  animals  are  placed  laterally,  and 
cannot  both  be  directed  at  once  to  the  same  object.  Finally, 
the  gestures  of  man  and  animals  prove  that  they  look  with 
one  eye,  and  listen  with  one  ear;  for  they  direct  one  eye  or 
one  ear  towards  the  object  to  be  seen  or  heard. 

To  this  Walther  and  Ackermann  have  opposed  an  erroneous 
conclusion  from  a  certain  experiment.  Knowing  green  to  be 
a  compound  of  yellow  and  blue,  they  inferred  that  this  color 
would  be  produced  by  looking  through  spectacles  of  which 
one  glass  was  blue  and  the  other  yellow.  Gall  and  I  often 
tried  this  experiment,  but  never  with  any  such  result.  Both 
glasses  of  the  spectacles  being  equally  thick,  we  found  ob- 
jects tinted  with  the  color  of  that  before  the  eye  habitually 
used.  When  they  were  of  different  thicknesses,  the  color 
of  the  thinner  was  perceived. 

It  may  be  asked,  which  eye  is  most  ordinarily  employed  in 
looking.  Le  Cat  thought  it  was  changed  every  day.  Borelli 
believed  the  left  eye  to  be  strongest ;  but  Le  Cat  asserted  that 
sometimes  the  right,  sometimes  the  left,  had  greatest  power. 
We  have  observed  that,  as  in  general  the  whole  right  side  of 
the  body  is  stronger  than  the  left,  so  the  greater  number  of 
persons  look  with  the  right  eye.  All  do  not,  however,  look 
with  their  strongest  eye. 

l^otwithstanding  what  has  been  said,  Gall's  explanation 
seems  to  me  little  satisfactory.  Indeed  it  is  very  remarkable 
that  passively,  we  perceive  at  the  same  time  the  impressions 
of  both  organs  of  any  sense,  not  only  if  one,  but  also  if  dif- 


EXTERNAL  SENSES 


ferent  objects  impress  the  two.  Even  different  impressions  of 
different  objects  may  be  perceived  by  both  organs  of  two 
senses  at  once.  We  may,  for  instance,  with  both  eyes  see 
different  objects  at  the  moment  that  with  both  ears  we  hear 
different  sounds.  As  soon  as  we  are  attentive,  however,  as 
soon  as  we  look  or  listen,  we  perceive  but  one  impression.  It 
is  impossible,  therefore,  to  attend  to  two  different  discourses 
at  once.  The  leader  of  an  orchestra  hears  passively  all  the 
instruments,  but  he  cannot  be  attentive  except  to  one.  The 
rapidity  of  mental  action  deceives  several,  and  makes  them 
think  it  possible  to  attend  to  different  objects  at  the  same 
moment.  It  follows  that  there  is  a  difference  between  the 
active  and  passive  state  of  the  senses;  but  whether  this 
difference  suffices  to  explain  the  single  consciousness  of  every 
sense  is  another  question;  I  think  it  does  not. 

Eirst,  this  explanation  would  only  apply  to  functions  in 
their  active,  not  at  all  in  their  passive  state;  and  the  cause 
of  single  consciousness  must  be  the  same  in  both.  Farther, 
the  active  state  is  not  produced  by  the  external  senses  them- 
selves, any  more  than  voluntary  motion  by  the  mere  muscles. 
Some  internal  power  renders  the  senses  active;  they  them- 
selves are  always  passive,  and  merely  propagate  external 
impressions;  they  appear  active  only  when  something 
internal  employs  them  to  receive  and  to  transmit  im- 
pressions to  the  brain.  It  is  therefore  probable  that  the 
internal  cause  which  excites  only  a  single  organ  of  the 
external  senses  to  activity,  is  also  the  cause  of  the  single 
consciousness  of  different  impressions.  Gall's  explanation 
of  single  consciousness  is  consequently  not  only  grounded 
upon  an  inaccurate  notion,  but  would  be  far  from  satisfactory, 
were  the  supposition  even  true. 

6.  Commissures. 

Another  explanation  of  single  consciousness  may  be  found 
in  the  commissures,  or  uniting  fibres  of  both  organs.  For 
though  every  organ  of  sense  be  double,  similar  parts  on  each 
side  are  united  by  a  peculiar  apparatus.  The  impressions 
of  both  organs  may  possibly  be  combined  by  this  arrangement. 


S60 


PHRENOLOGY 


In  admitting  that  this  would  explain  single  consciousness  in 
the  case  of  any  given  sense,  it  would  not,  however,  explain 
single  consciousness  of  impressions  received  by  different 
senses. 

7.    Central  Point. 

The  explanation  having  the  old  idea  of  a  central  point  for 
its  basis,  will  no  longer  be  listened  to,  as  anatomy  proves  that 
no  such  point  exists  in  the  brain.  From  all  that  has  been 
said,  it  is  evident  that  no  fact  either  in  anatomy  or  physiology 
explains  the  single  consciousness. 

8.    Singleness  of  Mind. 

It  seems  more  probable  that  the  singleness  of  mind  ex- 
plains its  single  consciousness.  But  from  what  I  have  said, 
it  follows  that  consciousness  is  not  always  single.  Single 
consciousness  therefore  must  be  distinguished  from  personal 
identity.  This  latter  seems  to  depend  on  the  special  power 
which  I  name  Individuality. 

III.    Every  Seme  has  its  oiun  ^peculiar  Nature. 

A  third  generality  of  the  five  senses  is,  that  its  own  power 
suffices  to  each  to  perform  its  function.  Although  much 
has  been  said  of  the  mutual  rectification  of  the  senses,  and 
of  their  habits,  it  is  a  general  principle,  that  the  power  or 
capacity  of  every  sense  is  inherent  in  the  sense  itself. 
Farther,  the  relation  of  the  senses  to  external  impressions  is 
determinate  and  subject  to  positive  laws.  As  soon  as 
odoriferous  particles  impress  the  olfactory  nerve,  the  impres- 
sion is  at  once  either  found  to  be  agreeable  or  otherwise,  and 
according  to  this  relation  between  external  impressions  and 
external  senses,  the  manner  of  acting  of  man  and  animals 
varies.  I^o  preceding  exercise  or  habit  furnishes  each  sense 
with  its  special  power ;  this  depends  on  its  peculiar  organiza- 
tion alone.  If  the  organization  be  perfect,  the  functions  are, 
in  like  manner :  and  if  it  be  imperfect  or  diseased,  these  are 
defective  or  deranged  notwithstanding  all  preceding  exercise. 
If  the  optic  apparatus  be  perfect  in  birds,  when  they  break 


EXTERNAL  SENSES 


361 


the  shell,  their  sight  is  perfect;  on  the  contrary,  if  the 
organization  of  the  eye  and  ear  in  new-born  animals  be 
imperfect,  seeing  and  hearing  are  the  same ;  and  if  the  eyes 
of  adults  be  diseased,  vision  is  deranged.  In  the  aged  the 
functions  of  the  senses  lose  their  energy,  because  the  vital 
power  of  the  organs  decreases. 

It  is,  indeed,  absurd  to  suppose,  that  the  Creator  should 
have  produced  any  sense  incapable  of  performing  its  func- 
tions without  support  from  another  and  a  different  one;  for 
example,  that  the  eye  should  not  see  without  the  aid  of 
touch,  or  the  ear  not  hear  without  assistance  from  sight.  In 
Phrenology,  the  following  positions  are  of  prime  importance : 
none  of  the  senses  acquire  their  faculties  from  any  of  the 
others;  every  sense  produces  special  sensations;  all  senses 
may  procure  the  idea  of  existing  objects,  and  one  sense  is 
fitter  than  another  to  acquaint  us  with  particular  bodies  and 
their  qualities. 

Touch,  proves  that  a  straight  rod,  which,  half  plunged 
into  water  appears  crooked,  is  straight,  and  this  is  a  kind  of 
rectification ;  but  this  must  not  be  confounded  with  the  idea, 
according  to  which  one  sense  acquires  its  faculty  by  the 
rectification  of  another.  Touch  shows  that  the  rod  plunged 
in  water,  which  looks  crooked,  is  straight;  but  the  eyes  will 
always  see  it  crooked,  since  the  laws  of  sight  are  determinate, 
and  we  see  according  to  the  laws  of  the  refraction  of  light. 
Such  rectification  of  the  senses  is  mutual  and  general,  not 
the  prerogative  of  any  one  in  particular.  The  eyes  may 
rectify  the  sense  of  touch :  if,  without  our  knowledge,  a 
piece  of  thin  paper  be  placed  between  our  thumb  and  fore- 
finger, we  may  not  feel  but  see  it.  Even  smell  and  taste 
may  rectify  the  senses  of  sight  and  of  touch.  Many  fluids 
feel  like  water,  but  smell  and  taste  proclaim  them  different. 
Thus  every  sense  has  its  peculiar  and  independent  faculty, 
is  subject  to  constant  laws,  and  depends  on  the  state  of  its 
appropriate  organ  for  its  capacity  to  perform  its  office ;  but 
every  sense  also  recognises  impressions  imperceptible  to  an- 
other, and  in  this  way  are  the  senses  mutually  aidant  in 
coming  to  exact  notions ;  for  instance,  in  the  study  of  natural 
history. 


262 


PHRENOLOGY 


IV.    Every  Sense  may  he  exercised. 

Another  observation  generally  applicable  is,  that  though 
no  sense  acquires  its  faculty  by  exercise,  yet  the  function  of 
every  one  is  strengthened  by  it.  The  sense  of  feeling,  long 
and  carefully  exercised,  acquires  a  very  high  degree  of 
perfection.  Thus  the  blind  know  the  proximity  of  external 
objects  by  the  impression  of  the  air  upon  their  faces.  Le  Cat 
speaks  of  one  born  blind  at  Poiscaux,  who  distinguished  the 
distance  of  the  fire  by  the  degree  of  its  heat.  Saunderson, 
though  blind,  in  handling  a  series  of  medals,  discerned  the 
false  from  the  true  more  exactly  than  many  connoisseurs. 
Le  Cat  mentions  a  blind  sculptor,  Ganibasius  of  Volterra, 
who  traced  the  living  face  with  his  fingers,  and  modelled  it 
in  potter's  clay.  The  deaf  and  dumb,  in  the  institution  of 
Mr.  Eschke,  at  Berlin,  knew  perfectly  what  was  written  on 
their  backs,  though  covered  with  clothes.  Boyle  and  others 
relate  histories  of  the  blind,  whose  touch  was  so  acute,  as 
even  to  enable  them  to  distinguish  colors  and  their  shades. 
The  same  thing  is  stated  of  the  blind  Weissenbourg,  of 
Manheim.  This  man  had  about  thirty  pieces '  of  different- 
colored  cloths,  and  could  indicate  with  precision  the  hue  of 
each ;  but  he  often  made  mistakes  in  the  color  of  strangers' 
clothes.  The  cards  with  which  he  played  were  marked;  he 
did  not  distinguish  them  by  their  colors,  as  those  who  were 
not  acquainted  with  this  imagined.  Many  blind  persons 
have  assured  me  of  their  incapacity  to  distinguish  colors. 
A  few,  however,  discern  white  from  black,  because  white 
surfaces  are  in  general  smoother  than  black.  When  the 
blind  pretend  to  distinguish  colors,  they  do  no  more  than 
determine  surfaces  of  greater  or  less  degrees  of  smoothness, 
without  acquiring  any  idea  of  color  in  itself. 

The  sense  of  taste  as  well  as  every  other  is  strengthened 
by  exercise.  Certain  articles  are  tasteless  or  unpleasant  at 
first ;  for  instance,  oysters  and  truffles ;  but  having  been  eaten 
several  times,  their  particular  savor  is  distinguished.  A 
common  opinion  is,  that  the  sense  of  taste  is  blunted  by 
spiced  dishes  and  refined  cookery.    But  who  will  maintain 


EXTERNAL  SENSES 


363 


that  our  cooks  and  dainty-mouthed  gourmands  have  a  more 
obtuse  taste  than  savages,  who  distinguish  the  flavor  of  some 
roots  insipid  to  a  civilized  palate  ?  Do  not  the  frequent 
accidents  from  poisonous  vegetables,  hemlock,  belladonna, 
and  improper  mushrooms,  prove  that  the  taste  of  the  sober 
countryman  is  no  surer  guide  than  that  of  the  voluptuous 
citizen?  We  must,  however,  admit  in  regard  to  taste  what 
happens  universally;  too  strong  impressions  blunt  its  sensi- 
bility; the  functions  grow  more  energetic  only  by  a  due 
quantity  of  exercise. 

The  sense  of  smell  may  also  be  exercised.  Many  physi- 
cians, on  entering  a  sick  room,  distinguish  the  kind  and 
state  of  certain  diseases.  It  is  related  that  some  negro  tribes 
follow  others  by  the  scent,  as  dogs  do,  and  even  distinguish 
between  a  negro  and  a  European.  Smell  is  blunted  by  the 
application  of  very  strong  and  penetrating  odors;  conform- 
able exercise  alone  strengthens  its  functions. 

The  sense  of  hearing,  like  the  senses  already  spoken  of,  is 
cultivated  by  exercise.  The  blind  Weissenbourg,  of  Man- 
heim,  judged  exactly  of  the  distance  and  stature  of  persons 
who  spoke  to  him  standing.  The  blind  Schoenberger,  of 
Weide,  in  the  Upper  Palatinate,  had  the  sense  of  hearing 
so  acute,  that  it  was  sufficient  by  tapping  to  indicate  the 
place  where  the  nine  pins  were  set  up,  or  the  situation  of  the 
target  to  be  shot  at,  to  enable  him  often  to  throw  or  shoot 
successfully.  Blind  persons  indeed  often  find  a  pin  or  piece 
of  money  which  makes  a  noise  in  falling. 

Finally,  the  eyes  acquire  a  very  high  degree  of  acuteness 
by  exercise.  Le  Cat  mentions  a  deaf  woman  of  Amiens,  who 
distinguished  what  other  persons  said  from  the  mere  motion 
of  their  lips.  When  a  foreign  language  was  spoken,  she 
discovered  it  immediately.  Gall  and  I  observed  similar  cases 
at  Berlin  and  elsewhere ;  nay,  we  conversed  with  several  who 
understood  us,  even  when  we  concealed  the  mouth;  the 
motions  of  the  face  were  sufficient.  It  follows,  then,  that 
though  exercise  produce  not  the  faculties  of  the  external 
senses,  the  functions  of  each  may  still  be  rendered  more 
energetic  by  exercise. 


264, 


PHRENOLOGY 


V.    The  Function  of  every  Sense  is  modified. 

A  fifth  general  consideration  of  the  external  senses  is,  that 
their  functions  are  modified  not  only  in  different  kinds  of 
animals,  but  even  in  different  individuals  of  the  same  kind. 
The  taste  and  smell  of  carnivorous  and  herbivorous  animals 
undoubtedly  differ.  The  ox  and  horse  find  hay  to  be  savory, 
while  the  dog  and  wolf  find  flesh  to  be  well-tasted.  The 
senses  are  also  modified  by  different  ages  according  to 
peculiar  habits  or  circumstances,  and  even  participate  in  the 
various  states  of  health.  This  fact  explains  the  longings 
felt  during  pregnancy,  or  experienced  by  hypochondriacal 
and  hysterical  people,  and  also  why  we  are  sometimes  dis- 
gusted with  what  we  formerly  liked.  Moreover,  several 
substances,  inodorous  to  man,  make  a  strong  impression  on 
the  olfactory  nerves  of  certain  animals.  Some  animals,  too, 
are  much  excited  by  odors,  to  which  others  are  indifferent. 
One  odor  is  agreeable  to  one  individual,  and  disagreeable  to 
another.  In  the  same  way,  the  eye  and  ear  must  differ  in 
animals  living  under  w^ater,  from  those  of  creatures  which 
inhabit  the  air  ;  the  eyes  even  differ  in  those  animals  which 
see  in  the  night  from  those  which  see  during  the  day.  One 
individual  likes  a  color  or  a  sound  displeasing  to  another. 
Thus  the  functions  of  the  external  senses  are  universally 
modified. 

FUNCTIONS  TO  BE  DENIED  TO  THE  FIVE  SENSES. 

I.    Most  of  the  Perceptive,  and  all  the  Affective  and 
Reflective  Faculties. 

To  specify  the  functions  of  the  external  and  internal  senses 
is  an  essential  point  in  Phrenology,  however  difficult  the  task 
may  be.  Physiology  in  this  department  is  but  little  ad- 
vanced, and  whether  the  external  senses  have  consciousness 
or  not  is  still  a  matter  of  dispute.  The  considerations  on 
sensibility  in  the  first  section  of  this  work,  and  those  con- 
tained in  this  chapter,  leave  the  point  still  undecided.  I 
shall,  therefore,  confine  myself  here  to  such  points  as  may 
be  proved  by  experience. 


EXTERNAL  SENSES 


265 


The  axiom  of  Aristotle,"^  that  all  activity  of  the  mind 
begins  with  the  external  senses,  is  not  less  erroneous  than 
is  the  assertion  that  the  sense  of  touch  is  cause  of  the  instinc- 
tive labors  of  animals  and  of  the  mechanical  arts  of  man. 
It  is  easy  to  show,  in  a  general  way,  that  the  notions  of 
external  objects  acquired  by  man  and  animals,  are  not  merely 
dependent  on  the  external  senses,  and  in  particular  cases  that 
such  and  such  a  talent  is  not  the  effect  of  this  or  that  indi- 
vidual sense.    Let  us  begin  with  the  general  refutation. 

That  the  cognition  acquired  by  animals  and  men  of  the 
external  world,  and  the  superiority  of  the  human  under- 
standing cannot  be  attributed  to  the  external  senses,  appears 
to  me  in  this,  that  there  is  no  proportion  between  intellectual 
operations  and  the  senses,  either  in  different  species  of  ani- 
mals, or  in  different  indivduals  of  the  same  species.  Many 
animals  surpass  man  in  acuteness  and  strength  of  external 
sense,  yet  none  approaches  man  in  understanding.  More- 
over, idiots  frequently  possess  very  perfect  senses,  while  the 
most  intelligent  have  them  occasionally  very  weak.  A  fact 
mentioned  by  Darwin  f  also  proves  that  the  five  senses  are 
mere  intermedia,  and  that  the  import  of  their  impressions 
must  be  judged  of  by  something  internal.  An  old  man,  who 
had  had  a  paralytic  stroke,  preserved  the  senses  of  hearing 
and  of  vision  untouched;  he,  however,  could  only  receive 
ideas  by  means  of  the  latter;  when  he  was  told  that  it  was 
nine  o'clock  and  breakfast-time,  he  repeated  the  words  dis- 
tinctly, yet  without  gaining  any  information  from  them; 
but  if  his  servant  put  a  watch  into  his  hand,  and  showed  him 
the  hour  gone  by,  he  said,  '  Why,  William,  have  I  not  my 
breakfast  ? '  On  almost  every  occasion,  his  servant  could 
only  converse  with  him  by  means  of  visible  objects,  although 
liis  hearing  was  perfect. 

The  case  of  James  Mitchel,  in  Scotland,  furnishes  evident 
proof  of  the  external  senses  not  producing  the  affective  and 
intellectual  faculties,  but  of  their  being  mere  intermedia 


*  Nihil  est  in  intellectu  quod  non  prius  fuerit  in  sensu. 
f  Zoonomia,  third  edition,  vol.  iv.  p.  295. 


266 


PHRENOLOGY 


between  the  external  world  and  the  internal  mental  powers. 
As  this  case  is  of  the  utmost  importance,  I  shall  state  it 
with  some  details,  drawing  upon  the  accounts  published  by 
the  late  Dr.  Gordon,  Dugald  Stewart,  and  James  Wardrop, 
as  well  as  all  I  learnt  from  his  sister  on  a  visit  I  paid  to 
!Nairn. 

He  was  born  on  the  11th  of  iTovember,  1795,  deaf  and 
blind,  of  intelligent  parents.  It  may  be  supposed  that  he 
is  not  without  some  internal  sense  of  hearing,  since  he  takes 
great  pleasure  in  striking  hard  bodies  upon  his  fore  teeth, 
which  he  sometimes  continues  to  do  for  hours  together. 
^  When  a  bunch  of  keys,'  says  Dr.  Gordon,  ^  was  given  to 
him,  he  seized  them  with  great  avidity,  and  tried  each 
separately  by  suspending  it  loosely  between  two  of  his  fingers, 
so  as  to  allow  it  to  vibrate  freely,  and  after  tingling  all 
of  them  amongst  his  teeth  in  this  manner,  he  generally 
selected  one  from  the  others,  the  sound  of  which  seemed  to 
please  him  most.  This  was  one  of  his  most  favorite  amuse- 
ments, and  it  was  surprising  how  long  it  would  arrest  his 
attention,  and  with  what  eagerness  he  would  on  all  occasions 
renew  it.  Mr.  Brougham,  having  observed  this  circumstance, 
brought  to  him  a  musical  snuff-box,  and  placed  it  between 
his  teeth.  This  seemed  not  only  to  excite  his  wonder,  but 
to  afford  him  exquisite  delight ;  and  his  father  and  his  sister, 
who  were  present,  remarked  that  they  had  never  seen  him  so 
much  interested  on  any  former  occasion.  While  the  instru- 
ment continued  to  play  he  kept  it  closely  between  his  teeth, 
and  when  the  airs  were  ended,  he  continued  to  hold  the  box 
to  his  mouth,  and  to  examine  it  minutely  with  his  fingers, 
expressing  by  his  gestures  and  by  his  countenance  great 
curiosity.' 

He  was  always  possessed  of  so  much  of  the  sense  of  sight 
as  to  be  able  to  distinguish  day  from  night,  and  to  perceive 
bright  colors,  particularly  white  and  red.  He  was  fond  of 
shutting  the  house-door  or  window-shutters,  and  remaining 
for  a  considerable  time  with  his  eyes  fixed  on  some  small  hole 
or  chink  through  which  the  sun's  rays  penetrate.  He,  how- 
ever, seemed  to  derive  no  information  from  sight,  as  he 


EXTERNAL  SENSES 


always  turned  away  his  head  while  examining  the  bodies 
presented  to  him. 

His  senses  of  touch  and  smell  were  very  acute,  and  by 
their  assistance  he  was  soon  able  to  distinguish  things  and 
persons,  strangers  and  those  of  his  family.  '  When  a 
stranger  approached  him,'  says  Mr.  War  drop,  '  he  eagerly 
began  to  touch  some  part  of  his  body,  commonly  taking  hold 
of  his  arm,  which  he  held  near  his  nose,  and  after  two  or 
three  strong  inspirations  through  his  nostrils,  appeared  de- 
cided in  his  opinion.  If  it  happened  to  be  unfavorable,  he 
suddenly  went  to  a  distance  with  the  appearence  of  disgust ; 
if  favorable,  he  showed  a  dispositon  to  become  more  intimate, 
and  expressed  by  his  countenance  more  or  less  satisfaction.' 
When  I  visited  him  in  1816,  his  sister  told  me  that  of  late 
years  he  had  made  less  use  of  his  smell  than  formerly,  in 
making  himself  acquainted  with  external  objects,  and  no  fact 
has  shown  that  he  ever  distinguished  the  presence  of  any 
one  by  the  smell  alone.  In  the  year  1808,  the  drums  of  both 
ears  were  pierced,  the  one  by  Sir  Astley  Cooper,  the  other  by 
the  late  Mr.  Saunders.  In  1810,  when  fourteen  years  of 
age,  Mr.  Wardrop  performed  an  operation  on  his  right  eye, 
which  enabled  him  to  see  surrounding  objects,  if  not  very 
minute.  He  nevertheless  continued  to  examine  everything 
with  his  other  senses,  as  if  he  had  been  totally  blind  and  deaf. 
He  is  most  attracted  by  red,  and  looks  longer  at  it  than  at 
any  other  color;  then  comes  white,  and  after  that  yellow. 
He  gathers  together  in  the  field  flowers  of  the  same  kind. 
He  cannot  measure  exactly  the  distance  of  the  objects  from 
him',  but  he  puts  out  his  hand  in  their  direction,  and  examines 
them  in  the  mode  already  stated.  This  young  man,  though 
deprived  of  the  two  principal  senses  of  relation,  was  from 
infancy  anxious  to  acquire  knowledge  of  external  objects. 
He  also  manifested  the  different  feelings  without  having  been 
able  to  observe  them  in  other  persons. 

He  was  always  fond  of  young  children;  he  took  them 
affectionately  in  his  arms,  but  never  associated  with,  nor 
joined  in  the  amusements  of  boys  of  his  own  age.  He, 
however,  liked  the  company  of  the  boy  who  attended  him 


968 


PHRENOLOGY 


in  his  excursions,  in  order  to  keep  him  from  dangerous  situ- 
ations. Earl  J  in  life  he  was  uneasy  when  his  attendants 
were  changed ;  later  he  was  less  sensible  to  it.  He  was  very 
much  attached  to  his  relations.  Dr.  Gordon  had  mentioned, 
that  Mitchel  was  not  sorrowful  at  his  father's  funeral;  that 
he  moved  rapidly  among  the  crowd,  touching  almost  every 
body,  and  examining  some  very  minutely.  The  Eev. 
Thomas  Macfarlane,  on  the  contrary,  in  a  letter  to  Mr. 
Glennie,  of  Aberdeen,  dated  the  7th  of  May,  1812,  positively 
says,  '  When  the  coffin  which  enclosed  his  father's  corpse 
was  brought  from  the  house,  and  placed  upon  chairs  in  the 
court  before  the  manse,  previous  to  the  interment,  I  ap- 
proached to  the  coffin,  and  soon  after  saw  James  Mitchel 
come  from  the  house  in  considerable  agitation.  He  turned 
about  rapidly,  and  snuffed  very  much,  evidently  guiding 
himself  by  the  smell.  He  directly  approached  the  coffin, 
smelled  it  most  eagerly  for  several  seconds,  then  laid  himself 
down  upon  the  lid  on  his  face,  and  embraced  the  coffin,  while 
his  countenance  discovered  marks  of  the  most  lively  sorrow. 
I  stood  close  by  him ;  and  after  a  short  time  patted  his  head 
once  or  twice;  upon  which  he  rose,  and  returned  into  the 
house.  This  occurred  immediately  upon  the  coffin  being 
brought  out,  and  about  twenty  minutes  before  it  was  lifted 
in  order  to  be  carried  to  the  churchyard.  As  the  accuracy 
on  this  subject  has  been  doubted,  I  purposely  delayed  writing 
to  you,  till  T  should  have  an  opportunity  of  conversing  with 
the  Rev.  Pryce  Campbell,  minister  of  Ardensien,  brother-in- 
law  to  Mrs.  Mitchel,  who  was  present  at  the  funeral,  and  by 
whose  direction  every  thing  was  conducted.  I  fell  in  with 
this  gentleman.  I  took  an  opportunity  of  asking  him  if  he 
observed  any  marks  of  sorrow  about  James  Mitchel  on  the 
day  of  his  father's  funeral.  He  replied,  that  he  observed 
the  most  unequivocal  marks  of  grief  in  his  countenance,  and 
added  a  circumstance  which  escaped  my  notice,  that  when 
the  coffin  was  about  to  be  lifted,  in  order  to  be  carried  to  the 
churchyard,  James  Mitchel  clung  to  it,  endeavoring  to  pre- 
vent its  being  carried  away,  and  he,  (Mr.  Campbell,)  was 
obliged  to  remove  him  from  it  by  force.'    Both  these  gentle- 


EXTERNAL  SENSES 


269 


men  remark,  that  the  circumstances  mentioned  by  Dr. 
Gordon,  of  Mitchel's  running  through  the  crowd,  and  touch- 
ing every  person,  do  not  amount  to  a  proof  that  he  was 
insensible  to  the  loss  he  had  sustained.  In  acting  thus, 
Mitchel  was  merely  examining  the  assemblage  of  people 
around  him,  and  in  this  instance  his  curiosity  overcame  his 
grief.  He  went  several  mornings  to  visit  the  grave,  patted 
gently  the  turf  which  had  been  laid  over  it,  and  at  last,  as 
if  hopeless  of  his  father's  return,  became  sorrowful  even  to 
tears.  Shortly  after  his  father's  death,  his  mother  being 
unwell  and  confined  to  bed,  he  w^as  observed  to  weep.  After- 
wards, the  mother  left  Ardelach  and  went  to  IsTairn.  James 
Mitchel  returned  three  times  to  visit  his  former  habitation. 
On  his  first  visit,  he  went  through  the  different  apartments 
of  the  manse,  examined  the  furniture,  and  having  done  so, 
betrayed  an  anxiety  to  be  gone,  and  returned  directly  to 
Xairn.  On  the  other  visit,  several  workmen  were  employed 
taking  down  the  kitchen.  He  stood  some  time  evidently 
very  much  displeased  at  what  was  going  forward,  and  then 
went  away  without  having  been  prevailed  on  to  enter  the 
house.  On  his  third  visit,  the  manse  was  repaired,  and  he 
came  home  in  good-humor,  and  to  communicate  what  he  had 
observed  to  his  sister,  he  lifted  his  hands,  one  after  the  other, 
in  succession,  from  the  floor  towards  the  ceiling  of  the  room. 
In  the  year  1814-  he  had  a  severe  illness,  during  the  course  of 
which  he  took  a  particular  fancy  to  his  aunt,  his  father's 
sister,  who  was  at  that  time  living  with  his  mother,  and 
insisted  on  her  sitting  constantly  by  him.  It  happened,  that 
his  sister  was  taken  unwell  before  his  own  perfect  recovery, 
and  he  would  not  now  allow  this  aunt  to  sit  down  near  him, 
but  always  made  signs  that  she  should  go  up  stairs,  where 
his  sister  was,  nor  did  he  rest  till  he  had  made  good  his 
point.  He  showed  a  wish  to  get  up  stairs  himself,  and  upon 
being  brought  up  seemed  quite  satisfied  when  his  sister 
patted  him,  and  shook  hands  with  him.  Thus  there  can  be 
no  doubt  of  his  affection  and  consideration  for  others. 

He  is  generally  placid,  and  of  a  mild  temper,  but  if  too 
much  teased,  or  if  interrupted  in  his  amusements,  he  is 


970 


PHRENOLOGY 


irritated,  and  sometimes  gets  into  paroxysms  of  violent  rage, 
when  he  tears  his  clothes.  He  is  now  grown  up,  and  no 
longer  under  the  control  of  his  mother  and  sister.  He  is 
cautious,  but  not  timid.  He  would  formerly  take  food  from 
no  one  but  his  parents  and  sister.  From  infancy  he  has  been 
fond  of  retiring  to  a  dark  corner,  and  kindling  a  light.  He 
continues  to  dislike  darkness ;  after  nightfall  he  seems  happy 
in  reaching  a  room  where  there  is  a  candle  or  a  fire.  Means 
have  been  used  to  teach  him  to  make  baskets;  but  he  wants 
application  to  finish  any  thing,  and  throws  the  materials  into 
the  fire;  yet  he  knows  from  experience  the  danger  of  fire, 
warter,  and  sharp  instruments.  He  has  frequently  amused 
himself  with  a  dead  fowl  in  the  kitchen,  placing  it  repeatedly 
on  its  legs,  and  laughing  when  it  fell.  He  was  allowed  to 
touch  his  father's  corpse ;  as  soon  as  he  felt  it  he  shrunk  away. 
This  was  the  first  time  he  had  ever  touched  a  dead  body. 
Several  years  later,  a  neighbor  who  had  frequently  indulged 
him  with  a  pipe  and  tobacco,  died.  His  sister  brought  him 
to  the  room  where  the  body  lay,  and  allowed  him  to  feel  it. 
This  he  did  very  readily,  not  shrinking  away  as  formerly 
when  he  touched  his  father.  He  even  seemed  rather  anxious 
to  examine  it;  when  he  had  so  done,  he  stood  for  a  few 
seconds  rather  thoughtfully,  and  then  smiled.  He  now  re- 
tired willingly ;  but  not  before  he  showed  that  he  recognised 
the  person,  and  was  sensible  of  what  had  happened.  This 
he  did  by  making  his  usual  sign  for  smoking,  and  by  putting 
his  hand  to  the  ground,  his  sign  for  interment. 

He  seems  now  apprehensive  of  dying.  When,  in  1814, 
he  was  so  much  reduced  as  to  be  incapable  of  walking  with- 
out support,  he  could  not  be  prevailed  on  to  lie  a  single  day 
in  bed.  He  watched  the  first  appearance  of  dawn,  and 
insisted  on  being  dressed  immediately;  thinking  probably 
that  he  would  not  die  out  of  bed.  He  could  bear  to  see 
nothing  white  near  his  bed,  or  even  in  the  room  with  him, 
when  unwell.  Several  times  something  white  being  by  acci- 
dent thrown  across  the  foot  of  his  bed,  he  appeared  most 
unhappy  till  it  was  removed,  and  even  when  linen  was  put 
to  the  fire  to  air,  he  was  in  the  greatest  possible  distress. 


EXTERNAL  SENSES 


This  dislike  was  explained  from  Ms  having  always  seen  dead 
bodies  laid  out  in  white. 

He  always  took  pleasure  in  making  prisoners  of  other 
persons  loj  locking  them  in  the  stable,  or  in  a  room,  laughing 
and  jumping  about  all  the  while.  His  sister  sent  him  one 
day  with  a  half -penny  to  buy  two  pipes.  He  understood  the 
signs,  went  out  to  a  shoemaker's  house,  where  they  were  to 
be  had,  and  returned  with  one  in  his  hand.  They  suspected 
that  he  had  another  about  him,  and  giving  him  to  understand 
that  he  ought  to  have  bought  two,  his  sister  insisted  on  his 
going  to  fetch  the  second.  He  then  unbuttoned  his  coat,  and 
laughing  heartily  produced  the  second  pipe.  The  Sunday 
after  this,  when  his  sister  gave  him  a  half -penny,  as  usual, 
in  church,  to  put  into  the  poor's  box,  he  placed  it  between  his 
teeth  like  a  pipe  and  laughed,  but  she  having  given  him  a 
shake,  he  dropped  it  into  the  box.  When  I  saw  him,  he  was 
allowed  four  pipes  of  tobacco  a-day.  His  love  of  smoking 
being  well  known,  several  persons  in  ISTairn  gave  him  tobacco, 
when  they  met  him  in  the  street,  but  this  he  never  produced 
until  he  had  had  his  daily  allowance  at  home.  He  used 
formerly  to  break  his  pipe  as  soon  as  it  was  smoked  out ;  he 
now  makes  each  serve  twice  before  he  breaks  it.  When  he 
has  received  tobacco  from  strangers,  however,  it  serves  much 
oftener,  as  he  is  aware  that  two  a-day  are  his  allowance. 
They  once  gave  him  a  more  durable  pipe,  but  he  threw  it 
away.  He  did  the  same  with  old  shoes,  in  order  not  to  be 
forced  by  his  parents  to  put  them  on  any  more.  It  is  quite 
certain  that  he  has  ideas  of  property.  He  once,  at  no  great 
distance  from  the  manse,  met  a  person  riding  a  horse  which 
had  been  purchased  a  few  weeks  before  from  his  mother.  On 
feeling  the  animal,  he  seemed  instantly  to  recognise  it.  The 
rider  dismounted,  to  see  how  Mitchel  would  behave,  and  was 
much  amused  to  find  that  he  led  the  horse  to  his  mother's 
stable,  took  off  the  saddle  and  bridle,  put  com  before  him 
and  then  withdrew,  locking  the  door  and  putting  the  key 
in  his  pocket. 

He  is  extremely  fond  of  walking  and  running  about,  of 
riding,  and  of  bodily  exercise  in  general.     Since  his  sight 


272 


PHRENOLOGY 


has  improved,  lie  makes  long  excursions,  but  he  always 
returns  to  his  meals.  When  yet  a  child,  he  attempted  to 
build  small  houses  with  turf,  leaving  little  openings  re- 
sembling windows.  For  hours  he  employed  himself  in  the 
bed  of  the  river  which  runs  within  a  few  yards  of  the  house, 
selecting  stones  of  a  round  shape,  nearly  of  the  same  weight, 
and  having  a  certain  degree  of  smoothness.  These  he  placed 
in  a  circular  form  on  the  bank,  and  then  seated  himself  in 
the  middle.  He  often  floated  pieces  of  wood  on  the  water. 
He  always  liked  smooth  bodies.  He  often  endeavored  to 
smooth  sticks  or  rods  with  his  teeth,  or  caused  the  boy  who 
attended  him  to  smooth  them  with  a  knife. 

He  early  showed  a  great  partiality  to  new  clothes;  after 
the  measure  is  taken,  nothing  else  seems  to  occupy  his  mind. 
He  literally  persecutes  the  tailor  and  shoemaker,  until  his 
coat  or  shoes  are  finished;  he  is  their  guest  morning,  noon, 
and  night.  He  prefers  persons  well-dressed  to  those  who 
are  not.  He  never  liked  to  take  his  regular  meals  in  the 
kitchen,  yet  in  coming  home  before  dinner  time,  he  will 
take  a  potato  from  the  servant.  He  particularly  courts  the 
good  opinion  of  his  sister,  and  if  made  aware  that  he  has 
done  wrong  or  offended  her  or  his  mother,  he  shows  evident 
sorrow. 

In  the  following  anecdote  a  peculiar  proof  of  his  kindness 
will  be  found.  He  had  once  received  a  severe  wound  in  his 
foot,  during  the  cure  of  which  he  usually  sat  by  the  fire,  his 
foot  resting  on  a  low  stool.  More  than  a  year  afterwards  a 
servant  boy  with  whom  he  used  to  play,  happened  to  be 
confined  from  a  similar  cause.  Young  Mitchel  perceiving 
that  his  companion  remained  longer  in  one  situation  than 
usual,  examined  him  attentively,  and  seemed  quickly  to  dis- 
cover, by  the  bandages  on  his  foot,  the  reason  of  his  confine- 
ment. He  immediately  went  up  to  a  garret,  sought  from 
amidst  several  other  pieces  of  furniture  the  little  foot-stool, 
which  had  formerly  supported  his  own  wounded  limb, 
brought  it  down  in  his  hand  to  the  kitchen,  and  placed  the 
servant-boy's  foot  gently  upon  it. 

It  is  difficult  to  say  whether  he  has  any  notion  of  religion. 


EXTERNAL  SENSES 


273 


He  accompanies  his  relations  to  churcli,  behaves  quietly,  and 
kneels  at  family  prayers.  Three  months  after  his  father's 
death,  a  clergyman  being  in  the  house,  on  a  Sunday  evening, 
he  pointed  to  his  father's  bible,  and  then  made  a  sign  that 
the  family  should  kneel.    Did  he  so  by  habit  alone  ? 

James  Mitchel  has  always  shown  an  inquisitive  turn  of 
mind,  great  memory,  and  an  eminent  degree  of  judgment  and 
reflection.  Dr.  Gordon  said :  ^  The  knowledge  which  he  has 
derived  from  the  senses  of  touch,  taste,  and  smell,  seems  fully 
as  extensive  as  what  any  person  of  the  most  perfect  faculties 
might  be  supposed  to  acquire,  if  he  could  by  any  contrivance 
be  prevented  from  using  his  eyes  and  ears  for  the  same 
period  of  time,  from  the  moment  of  birth,  and  in  the  same 
retired  situation  of  country.  The  train  of  his  thoughts 
seems  to  be  regulated  by  the  same  principles  as  that  of  the 
soundest  minds.  His  actions  neither  indicate  incoherence 
nor  fatuity ;  but  every  thing  he  does  appears  capable  of  being 
easily  traced  to  rational  motives.'  And  I  might  add :  luliy 
not,  since  his  hrain  is  very  ivell  organized!  Indeed  he 
always  felt  an  internal  desire  to  acquire  knowledge.  He 
every  day  explored  ground  where  he  had  not  been  before. 
He  wished  to  become  acquainted  with  every  thing  that  fell 
into  his  hands.  He  amused  himself  in  visiting  the  carpen- 
ter's, or  other  tradesmen's  shops,  handling  their  implements, 
and  trying  to  discover  what  they  were  engaged  about.  He 
knows  the  uses  to  which  all  common  things  are  put,  and  is 
pleased  when  the  use  of  any  thing  with  which  he  is  not 
acquainted  is  communicated  to  him. 

Once  when  still  young,  he  was  caught  creeping  on  his 
hands  and  knees  along  a  narrow  wooden  bridge,  which  crossed 
the  river  at  a  point  where  the  stream  is  rather  deep  and 
rapid.  His  father  wishing  to  discourage  him  from  such  a 
perilous  attempt  again,  ordered  a  servant  to  push  him  off 
and  plunge  him  once  or  twice  into  the  river.  This  measure 
had  the  desired  effect.  But  several  years  later,  having  got 
angry  with  the  servant  boy  as  they  were  playing  together  in 
a  boat,  he  took  him,  plunged  him  into  the  water  and  drew 
him  out,  just  as  he  had  been  served  himself  on  the  former 

18 


274 


PHRENOLOGY 


occasion.  He  was  soon  aware  of  the  advantages  whicli  other 
persons  enjoyed.  He  sometimes  proceeded  alone  in  his  ex- 
cursions; but  finding  any  obstacle,  he  waited  till  his  boy 
arrived  and  assisted  him.  He  now  goes  alone  to  great  dis- 
tances, for  instance,  from  iNTairn  to  Fort  George.  He  easily 
learnt  to  measure  time.  On  one  occasion  his  mother  went 
from  home,  and  he  seeming  anxious  about  her,  his  sister  bent 
his  head  gently,  as  laying  it  on  a  pillow,  and  shutting  his 
eyes,  once  for  each  night  the  mother  was  to  be  absent,  in  order 
to  show  him  that  he  would  sleep  so  many  times  before  her 
return. 

In  this  way  too  it  was  signified  to  him  how  many  days  were 
to  pass  before  his  new  clothes  would  be  made.  His  ready 
interpretation  of  signs  showed  a  considerable  share  of  refiec- 
tion.  He  used  natural  signs,  all  addressed  to  the  sight  of 
those  with  whom  he  conversed.  When  hungry,  he  approaches 
his  mother  or  sister,  touches  them  in  an  expressive  manner, 
carries  his  hand  to  his  mouth,  and  points  towards  the  apart- 
ment or  cupboard  where  the  eatables  are  usually  kept.  He 
is  quite  alive  to  proper  and  regular  behavior;  his  sister 
expresses  her  satisfaction  or  displeasure  by  different  manners 
of  touching  his  head  or  shoulder.  Gentle  tapping  is  a  sign 
of  satisfaction;  a  quick  slap,  of  displeasure.  He  indicates 
riding  on  horseback  by  raising  his  foot  and  bringing  the 
fingers  of  each  hand  together  under  the  sole,  in  imitation  of  a 
stirrup.  When  he  wants  to  go  to  bed,  he  inclines  his  head 
sidewise,  as  if  to  lay  it  on  a  pillow.  He  indicates  a  shoe- 
maker by  imitating  with  his  arms  a  shoemaker's  motions  in 
pulling  his  thread;  so  also  a  tailor  by  the  motions  made  in 
sewing. 

From  the  preceding  facts  it  follows,  that  Mitchel's  mind 
displays  a  great  share  of  native  strength,  and  is  destitute  only 
of  the  vehicles  of  its  exhibition,  the  eyes  and  the  ears. 

It  is  certainly  a  great  pity  that  he  received  no  education, 
since  none  of  his  powers  are  dormant.  By  means  of  touch 
he  might  have  been  taught  many  artificial  signs;  but  the 
internal  activity  of  his  mind  is  lost  to  those  around  him,  and 
consequently  to  the  study  of  mankind. 


EXTERNAL  SENSES 


275 


A  similar  case  of  a  girl  exists  in  Cambridge.  She  became 
blind  and  deaf  at  the  age  of  three  years,  is  now  about  ten 
years  old,  and  shows  various  feelings  and  intellectual  facul- 
ties in  a  high  degree. 

I  saw  another  case  of  this  nature  in  the  institution  for 
deaf  and  dumb  at  Paris.  It  was  a  female,  and  at  first  only 
deaf  and  dumb.  She  received  the  usual  instruction  of  the 
deaf  and  dumb,  and  learned  to  write  before  she  lost  her  sight. 
She  then  continued  to  converse  with  her  other  companions 
by  signs  adapted  to  the  touch.  She  could  indicate  her  mental 
activity  by  the  signs  she  had  learnt,  or  in  writing  into  the 
hands  of  those  with  whom  she  conversed,  or  others  would 
take  her  hand  and  make  therein  the  signs  she  understood. 

A  fourth  of  these  remarkable  cases  which  deserves  the 
attention  of  philosophers,  exists  in  the  American  Asylum, 
at  Hartford,  in  Connecticut.  Her  name  is  Julia  Brace. 
I  shall  first  extract  from  the  American  Annals  of  Education, 
published  by  Mr.  Woodbridge,  Vol.  I.  Oct.  and  ^ov.  1831, 
the  following  notice,  and  then  add  some  interesting  facts, 
which  were  related  to  me  when  I  saw  her  in  August,  1832. 

^  She  is  the  eldest  of  seven  children,  and  bom  at  Hartford, 
June  13,  1807.  At  four  years  of  age  she  was  seized  with 
the  typhus  fever,  on  Monday,  jSTovember  29,  1811,  and  on 
the  Saturday  following  she  became  blind  and  deaf.  She 
remained  dangerously  ill  for  four  or  five  weeks.  During  the 
following  summer,  she  was  again  twice  sick,  but  her  health 
became  established,  and  has  continued  excellent  ever  since. 

^  Before  her  illness,  she  had  not  only  learned  to  speak,  but 
to  repeat  her  letters,  and  to  spell  words  of  three  or  four 
syllables,  and  for  some  time  after  the  loss  of  her  sight  and 
hearing,  she  was  fond  of  taking  a  book,  and  spelling  words 
and  the  names  of  her  acquaintances.  She  retained  her  speech 
pretty  well  for  about  a  year,  but  gradually  lost  it.  For  three 
years  she  could  still  utter  a  few  words.  One  of  the  last  of 
these  was  mother. 

'  Julia  was  at  first  tmconscious  of  her  misfortune.  She 
seemed  to  imagine  that  a  long  night  had  come  upon  the 
world,  and  often  said,  it  will  never  he  day.    She  would  call 


276 


PHRENOLOGY 


upon  the  family  to  light  the  lamp,  and  was  impatient  at  their 
seeming  neglect  even  to  give  her  an  answer. 

'  One  day,  in  passing  a  window,  she  felt  the  sun  shining 
warm  upon  her  hand;  she  immediately  held  out  her  hand, 
and  pointed  with  delight  to  indicate  that  the  sun  shone. 
From  the  January  after  her  illness  until  the  following 
August  she  would  sleep  during  the  day,  and  be  awake  through 
the  night,  and  it  was  not  until  autumn,  by  taking  great  pains 
to  keep  her  awake  during  the  day,  that  she  was  set  right. 
She  was  afterwards  as  regular  in  this  respect  as  other  persons. 

^  At  first,  after  her  recovery,  she  was  not  inclined  to  walk, 
but  after  leading  her  with  a  stick,  the  apprehension  which 
might  have  deterred  her,  gradually  vanished,  and  she  began 
to  grope  her  way  unassisted,  like  other  blind  persons.  She 
gradually  returned  to  the  previous  habits  and  occupations  of 
her  childhood. 

^  Prom  the  period  of  her  recovery,  she  seemed  to  perceive 
the  return  of  the  Sabbath,  and  on  Sunday  morning  would 
get  her  own  clean  clothes  and  those  of  the  other  children. 
The  intervention  of  a  day  of  fasting  or  thanksgiving  confused 
her  reckoning,  and  does  so  even  now,  and  some  time  elapses 
before  she  gets  right.  If  her  mother  was  reading,  she  would 
find  a  book  and  endeavor  to  do  so. 

^  During  the  first  winter  after  her  recovery  she  was 
irritable  almost  to  madness.  She  would  exhibit  the  most 
violent  passion,  and  use  the  most  profane  language.  The 
next  summer  she  became  calmer,  and  her  mother  could 
govern  her  to  some  extent,  by  shaking  her  and  stamping  on 
the  floor  in  sign  of  disapprobation,  and  by  patting  her  head 
when  she  conducted  well.  She  is  now  habitually  mild, 
obedient,  and  affectionate. 

'  She  has  a  strong  feeling  of  propriety.  After  her  illness 
she  was  unwilling  to  wear  clothes,  and  would  pull  them  off 
violently.  At  length  her  mother  took  one  of  her  frocks  and 
tried  it  on  her  sister,  with  a  view  of  altering  it  for  her.  Julia 
took  the  frock  and  put  it  on  herself.  Later  she  cried  for  new 
clothes,  and  became  very  fond  of  dress. 

'  Since  the  summer  after  her  illness,  she  would  take  care 


EXTERNAL  SENSES 


277 


of  her  little  sisters,  she  would  wander  with  them  in  the  field, 
gather  whortleberries,  knock  down  apples  from  the  trees,  pick 
flowers,  and  make  them  into  nosegays  for  the  infant. 

'  She  would  take  care  of  her  sisters,  and  hold  and  attend 
them  while  they  were  infants,  but  when  young  she  refused 
to  take  care  of  either  of  her  twin-brothers.  Later  she  was 
kind  to  her  brothers  and  sisters,  and  when  she  received  a 
present,  was  always  fond  of  sharing  it  with  them.  If  it  was 
an  orange,  it  was  divided  very  exactly  into  equal  portions ;  if 
an  apple,  which  she  knew  to  be  more  common,  she  used  less 
care. 

^  The  poverty  of  her  mother  often  obliged  her  to  go  out 
and  work  for  the  whole  day,  and  the  children  were  left  in 
charge  of  Julia  on  such  occasions.  If  they  went  to  the  cup- 
board or  drawers  w^hen  her  mother  was  absent,  she  would 
stamp  on  the  floor  (the  method  which  necessity  had  taught 
her  mother  to  use  in  restraining  her)  shake  them,  and  if  pos- 
sible keep  them  away.  When  any  mischief  was  done,  she 
would  often  administer  immediate  punishment.  At  one 
time,  while  giving  the  children  their  bread  and  milk,  the 
bowl  was  broken:  in  imitation  of  what  she  supposed  would 
have  been  done  by  her  mother,  she  whipped  the  little  offender. 
But  feeling  of  her  eyes  immediately,  and  finding  that  she  was 
crying,  she  took  her  into  her  arms  and  endeavored  to  soothe 
her  with  kindness  and  caresses. 

'  Her  ideas  of  the  right  of  property  were  very  strong. 
When  any  thing  is  presented  to  her,  she  will  not  retain  it 
until  she  has  given  it  back,  and  by  its  being  returned,  or  by 
some  sign  of  property,  she  is  convinced  that  it  is  given  to 
her.  Her  countenance  then  exhibits  marks  of  pleasure;  she 
remembers  it  for  months,  and  will  bring  forth  the  present 
whenever  the  giver  comes.  It  has  been  remarked,  that,  not- 
withstanding the  state  of  poverty  in  which  she  passed  her 
childhood,  when  she  was  subsequently  brought  into  houses 
where  tempting  articles  of  food  and  dress  were  constantly 
thrown  in  her  way,  she  has  never  been  known  to  take  the 
most  trifling  object  without  leave.  She  was  equally  tenacious 
of  her  own  property,  and  felt  deeply  any  invasion  of  her 
rights. 


2T8 


PHRENOLOGY 


^  Once  in  her  childhood,  one  of  her  three  little  brothers 
had  disturbed  her  toys  in  the  drawer.  She  arraigned  them 
before  the  opened  drawer,  as  a  tribunal,  pointing  them  to 
the  mischief  they  had  done,  and  was  determined  to  find  out 
the  rogue,  but  not  one  of  them  would  either  confess  or  expose 
the  offender.  After  feeling  of  each  of  them  awhile,  in  order 
to  find  which  trembled,  without  success,  being  satisfied  that 
they  intended  to  deceive  her,  and  that  one  of  them  at  least 
was  guilty,  she  adopted  what  seemed  designed  as  a  strategem 
to  disappoint  them.  She  gave  each  one  a  box  on  the  ear,  and 
in  order  that  the  offender  should  not  escape,  she  then  felt  of 
the  mouths  of  all  three  of  them.  She  found  two  of  them 
crying:  this  she  seemed  to  think  a  proof  of  innocence,  and 
in  order  to  assuage  their  grief,  she  gave  them  sugar,  and 
showed  them  kindness,  as  tokens  of  their  acquittal  of  the 
charge ;  but  the  third,  who  gave  no  signs  of  sorrow,  received 
an  additional  portion  of  cuffs. 

^  While  the  inmate  of  a  school,  observing  that  a  gTeat  part 
of  their  time  was  occupied  with  books,  she  often  held  one 
before  her  sightless  eyes,  with  great  patience,  as  if  to  wait 
for  some  influence  upon  her.  In  reference  to  this  point,  the 
spirit  of  government  was  even  extended  to  her  favorite 
kitten.  She  would  spread  a  newspaper  before  it,  then  putting 
her  finger  on  its  mouth,  and  perceiving  that  it  did  not  move 
like  those  of  the  scholars  when  reading,  would  shake  the 
animal,  to  express  displeasure  at  its  indolence  and  obstinacy. 

'  From  a  child,  she  entertained  the  idea  that  the  tallest 
ought  to  rule ;  and  when  shorter  persons  than  herself  in  the 
houses  where  she  has  lived,  bade  her  to  do,  or  not  to  do  any 
thing,  she  would  respectfully  let  them  know  that  she  was  the 
tallest.  This  idea,  it  is  supposed,  she  entertained  till  she 
was  grown  taller  than  her  mother ;  but  she  has  now  given  up 
this  childish  notion. 

^  It  is  obvious  that  her  only  means  of  perceiving  external 
objects  are  the  smell,  the  taste,  and  the  touch.  The  touch 
is  her  chief  reliance,  and  enables  her  to  distinguish  every 
object  with  which  she  has  been  familiar,  sometimes  by  means 
of  her  fingers,  and  sometimes  by  her  lips  and  tongue.  But 


EXTERNAL  SENSES 


279 


her  smell  also  is  surprisingly  acute,  and  often  enables  her  to 
ascertain  facts  which  seem  beyond  her  reach. 

'  She  has  now  been  a  resident  for  several  years  in  the 
American  Asylum,  at  Hartford,  where  she  is  supported  in 
part  by  the  voluntary  contributions  of  visitors,  and  in  part 
by  her  own  labors  in  sewing  and  knitting.  A  language  of 
palpable  signs  was  early  established,  as  a  means  of  communi- 
cation with  her  friends.  This  has  been  much  improved  by 
her  intercourse  with  the  deaf  and  dumb,  and  is  now  sufficient 
for  all  necessary  purposes.  Her  countenance  as  she  sits  at 
work,  exhibits  the  strongest  evidence  of  an  active  mind,  and 
a  feeling  heart  within,  and  thoughts  and  feelings  seem  to  flit 
across  it  like  the  clouds  in  a  summer  sky.  A  shade  of  pen- 
siveness  will  be  followed  by  a  cloud  of  anxiety  or  gloom;  a 
peaceful  look  will  perhaps  succeed,  and  not  unfrequently,  a 
smile  lights  up  her  countenance,  which  seems  to  make  one 
forget  her  misfortunes.' 

I  observed  the  same  appearances  in  her  countenance  when 
I  saw  her;  and  she  was  on  that  day,  I  was  told,  in  good 
spirits.  Her  whole  history  shows  spontaneous  activity  of 
mind,  and  the  manifestations  of  the  special  powers,  as  ad- 
mitted in  Phrenology.  From  the  above-mentioned  facts  we 
perceive  her  love  and  care  of  children,  her  combativeness  in 
punishing  her  brothers  and  sisters ;  her  love  of  approbation, 
her  cautiousness,  her  acquisitiveness,  conscientiousness,  rever- 
ence, benevolence,  order,  time,  and  reflection.  She  knows 
the  inmates  of  the  institution,  and  has  chosen  one  girl  for  her 
particular  friend.  She  was  always  fond  of  childish  sports, 
and  of  playing  tricks  to  others,  in  concealing  things,  or  in 
shutting  them  up  in  rooms.  When  fatigued  of  being  ex- 
hibited to  strangers,  she  endeavors  to  get  out  of  the  way. 
She  delights  in  order,  cleanliness  and  dress.  At  the  day 
of  my  visit  her  head-dress  was  most  carefully  arranged,  and 
it  was  her  own  doing.  She  examines  with  her  hands  the 
hair-dress  of  other  ladies  she  meets  with,  and  imitates  the 
fashion.  Since  she  has  been  in  the  American  Institution, 
only  once  she  was  disobedient  to  the  superintendent,  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Weld,  but  being  placed  into  a  narrow  room  she  was 


^80 


PHRENOLOGY 


completely  corrected.  She  possesses  great  manual  dexterity, 
and  like  other  blind  persons  she  threads  her  needle  with  her 
tongue  and  lips.  She  knows  many  more  palpable  signs  than 
James  Mitchel,  yet  I  think  that  both  might  have  been  taught 
to  converse  with  others  by  the  touch,  or  written  signs,  on  a 
more  extensive  scale.  At  all  events,  these  unhappy  indi- 
viduals furnish  an  evident  proof  that  there  are  innate  dispo- 
sitions, and  that  the  external  senses  are  not  the  laws  of  the 
affective  and  intellectual  faculties. 

II.    The  external  Senses  do  not  produce  the  means  of  their 
own  gratification. 

The  five  external  senses  receive  and  propagate  impres- 
sions which  affect  them  agreeably  or  disagreeably;  but  they 
cannot  produce  the  means  of  their  own  satisfaction.  Ani- 
mals, therefore,  are  confined  to  the  enjoyment  of  those  impres- 
sions presented  to  them  by  nature.  They  prefer  the  taste 
of  one  thing  to  that  of  another ;  they  prefer  particular  odors, 
colors,  sounds,  but  they  cannot,  at  will,  command  or  excite 
impressions  calculated  to  gratify  the  senses  of  smell,  sight, 
or  hearing.  Man  alone  is  capable  of  this ;  he  alone,  in  order 
to  procure  pleasure  by  the  medium  of  his  senses,  cultivates 
gardens,  and  establishes  manufactories  of  perfume ;  he  alone 
plants  flowers  to  gratify  his  smell,  and  to  delight  his  eye. 
Man,  however,  has  not  conceived  these  acts  by  means  of 
smell ;  for  this  sense  is  much  more  acute  in  the  ox,  horse  and 
dog,  which  cultivate  no  flower-gardens,  and  which  have  no 
rose-water.  In  the  same  way,  animals  have  no  cookery,  and 
no  musical  instruments ;  they  cannot  voluntarily  charm  their 
palate  or  their  ears;  for  the  same  reason  they  have  no 
artificial  language,  and  no  tradition.  We  shall  afterwards 
see  that  man  possesses  superior  intellectual  faculties,  which 
produce  the  artificial  enjoyments  of  the  external  senses  and 
internal  perceptive  powers. 


EXTERNAL  SENSES 


281 


III.    Individual  Faculties,  which  are  erroneously  attributed 
to  the  external  Senses. 

To  the  Sense  of  Feeling  or  Touch. 

1.  The  consciousness  we  have  of  the  existence  of  the 
external  world  is  considered  as  a  prerogative  of  touch.  It 
is  said,  that  man  by  moving  finds  limits  or  resistance  to  his 
progTess,  and  is  thereby  advised  of  external  existences.  Our 
vision  however  finds  limits  as  well  as  our  motions,  and,  conse- 
quently, we  should  perceive  the  external  world  by  sight,  even 
though  we  did  not  by  touch.  Moreover,  the  sentient  power 
resides  not  in  the  external  organs,  but  in  the  mind.  I  cannot, 
therefore,  conceive  why  the  sentient  being  should  not  recog- 
nise impressions  made  on  it  in  every  way,  mediately  as  well 
as  immediately,  by  an  obstacle  to  farther  vision,  as  well  as 
by  an  impediment  to  its  endeavors  to  act.  In  either  case  there 
is  only  an  external  impression.  For  what  reason,  too,  does  the 
sentient  being,  assumed  unconscious  of  the  external  world, 
make  any  motion  whatever?  Why  do  insects  and  many 
animals  act  as  soon  as  they  are  born  ?  The  tortoise  and  duck, 
scarcely  hatched,  run  towards  the  water  which  they  have 
never  touched.  How  do  they  distinguish  water  from  solid 
bodies  ?  How  can  young  birds  be  acquainted  by  touch  with 
those  branches  upon  which  they  perch  for  the  first  time  on 
leaving  their  nests  ? 

Farther,  all  nature  opposes  this  hypothetical  opinion  of 
the  schools.  Man  and  animals  are  naturally  much  more 
disposed  to  transfer  their  internal  sensations,  aroused  by 
external  objects,  to  the  outward  world,  than  to  concentrate 
external  nature  within  themselves.  We  see  and  hear  from 
without,  at  least  it  seems  so  to  us.  The  infant,  without 
being  instructed,  turns  his  head  towards  the  side  whence 
come  the  sound  and  light  which  impress  his  ears  and  eyes. 
An  afHux  of  blood  to  the  optic  nerves  makes  us  see  flashes 
of  light,  and  to  the  auditory  nerves  tingling  or  other  peculiar 
sounds.  In  our  dreams  we  see  landscapes,  persons  and  ob- 
jects, with  which  we  are  familiar;  we  hear  music,  we  walk 


PHRENOLOGY 


in  peculiar  places,  and  have  a  thousand  different  sensations. 
The  insane  hear  heavenly  choirs,  see  angels ;  and  many  looked 
on  as  sane  consider  their  internal  sensations  as  realities,  they 
distinguish  the  fig-ures  of  their  genii,  see  spirits,  &c.  These 
and  similar  phenomena  take  place  inwardly,  but  are,  by  the 
mind,  transferred  to  the  external  world. 

The  faculty  of  separating  impressions  from  without  and 
the  external  world,  from  the  internal  sentient  power,  cannot 
be  attributed  to  any  external  sense ;  this  faculty  is  of  a  much 
higher  nature,  and  exists  internally  as  well  as  the  one  which 
says,  ^  I  feel  hence  I  am.'  Perceptions  of  impressions,  rec- 
ognition of  the  faculty  which  perceives,  and  reflections  upon 
this  acquired  knowledge,  are  very  different  things.  The 
internal  faculty  which  knows  the  existence  of  external  objects, 
acts  by  means  of  all  the  external  senses;  the  sense  of  touch 
has  no  preference,  no  monopoly.  De  Tracy  *  has  demon- 
strated, in  a  very  excellent  manner,  that  the  sense  of  touch 
has  not  the  prerogative  of  producing  the  notion  of  the  ex- 
ternal world.  He  says  the  nerves  are  merely  agitated  by 
various  impressions;  the  auditory,  optic  and  olfactory,  as 
well  as  the  tangent  nerves.  For  what  reason,  then,  should 
these  last  alone  excite  the  idea  of  an  external  cause  or 
existence  ? 

2.  The  second  prerogative  attributed  by  Buff  on,  Condil- 
lac,  Cuvier,  Dumas,  and  others,  to  the  sense  of  touch  is,  that 
it  alone  produces  the  ideas  of  space,  dimensions,  extent,  dis- 
tance, figure,  number,  motion  and  rest.  But  we  have  only 
to  examine  the  functions  of  animals  in  a  cursory  manner,  to 
prove  this  assertion  quite  incorrect.  Animals  which  acquire 
no,  or  very  imperfect,  information  from  touch,  still  judge 
of  distance,  figure,  and  plurality.  If  the  swallow  and  bat 
catch  insects  on  the  wing,  while  flying  with  very  great  swift- 
ness, do  they  not  measure  distance  ?  When  yoimg  birds  leave 
their  nests  for  the  first  time,  do  they  fly  against  houses  and 
trees,  instead  of  sitting  down  upon  a  branch  ?  Do  we  observe 
young  animals  which  have  never  yet  left  their  native  place, 

*  Ideologic,  torn.  i.  p.  114. 


EXTERNAL  SENSES 


283 


run  away  indifferently,  whether  they  perceive  an  enemy  afar 
off  or  near  at  hand  ?  Animals  born  with  imperfect  eyes,  or 
altogether  blind,  can  neither  see  external  objects  nor  measure 
distance ;  but  those .  which  are  born  with  perfect  eyes  see 
immediately,  and  measure  distance,  figure,  motion  and  plural- 
ity exactly.  The  partridge,  quail  and  duck  avoid  from  birth 
every  object  which  lies  in  their  way.  It  is,  therefore,  evident 
that  the  sense  of  touch  has  not  the  prerogative  of  producing 
ideas  of  extent,  distance,  form,  and  motion.  Locke,  indeed, 
demonstrated  this  truth  long  ago;  and  it  is  certain  that  not 
only  touch  and  vision,  but  also  hearing  and  smell,  may  excite 
ideas  of  distance,  direction,  motion  and  plurality.  Animals 
turn  towards  the  wind,  and  judge  of  the  direction  in  which 
impressions  come. 

Ideas  of  extent,  form,  distance,  motion  and  plurality,  thus 
excited  by  different  senses,  is  to  me  an  evident  proof  that 
none  of  them  belongs  immediately  to  any  external  sense;  for 
I  consider  it  as  an  axiom  in  the  philosophy  of  mind,  that  no 
special  faculty  manifests  itself  by  means  of  two  or  several 
organs.  Every  special  faculty  is  attached  to  some  one  par- 
ticular organ.  My  conclusion  is  confirmed  by  facts  and 
direct  proofs.  The  faculties  of  knowing  and  measuring 
space  in  general,  and  of  distinguishing  distance,  forms,  num- 
ber, motion  and  rest,  bear  no  proportion  to  the  external  senses 
to  which  they  are  attributed,  either  in  animals  or  in  man; 
these  faculties  are  internal,  and  produce  their  respective  sen- 
sations without  being  excited  by  the  senses  of  seeing  or  touch ; 
birds  migrate ;  dogs  and  pigeons  find  the  places  to  which  they 
are  attached  again,  without  being  acquainted  with  the  inter- 
jacent country  or  objects;  and  birds  build  nests  like  those  of 
their  kind  without  instruction ;  these  acts  follow  from  inter- 
nal faculties,  and  without  any  external  excitation  from  touch 
or  sight.  Finally,  the  physiology  of  the  brain  shows  that 
there  exists  particular  organs  of  powers,  the  manifestations 
of  which  are  in  proportion  to  their  respective  apparatuses. 
These  faculties,  therefore,  must  be  separated  from  the  func- 
tions of  the  external  senses,  and  attributed  to  particular 
internal  organs. 


PHRENOLOGY 


3.  The  third  supposed  prerogative  of  touch  is,  that  it  is 
the  surest  of  all,  and  the  rectifier  and  corrector  of  the  other 
senses.  In  treating  of  the  external  senses  in  general,  I  have 
demonstrated  that  no  sense  acquires  its  faculty  by  means 
of  another,  but  that  each  has  it  from  nature  independently; 
that  all  are  subject  to  particular  laws;  and  that  their  func- 
tions are  perfect  or  imp/crfect  according  to  the  organization 
of  their  proper  apparatus.  Thus,  from  this  consideration 
it  follows,  that  touch  neither  produces  the  faculties  of  the 
other  senses,  nor  rectifies  their  errors.  Indeed,  it  is  easy  to 
prove,  both  by  the  healthy  and  the  diseased  state,  that  touch 
is  not  surer  than  any  other  sense,  and  that  it  does  not  rectify 
the  other  senses,  any  more  than  it  is  rectified  by  them. 

If  we  cross  two  fingers,  and  touch  a  round  body,  a  pebble, 
for  instance,  or  a  pea,  we  seem  to  feel  two  bodies.  A  thin 
and  flexible  piece  of  paper  between  the  fore-finger  and  thumb 
is  not  felt.  In  various  diseases  individuals  fancy  they  re- 
ceive impressions  from  without;  they  feel  warm  or  cold, 
tickling,  creeping,  and  other  sensations;  just  as  they  hear 
voices,  which  have  no  external  existence,  and  are  produced 
by  an  internal  cause.  \ATioever  will  reflect  on  these  con- 
siderations, combined  with  those  exposed  when  speaking  of 
the  mutual  rectification  of  the  senses,  may  perceive  that  touch 
has  no  superiority  over  any  other  sense. 

4.  I  have  already  said,  that  some  physiologists  and  phil- 
osophers believe  that  the  sense  of  touch  produces  many  of 
the  instinctive  labors  observed  among  animals,  and  the  me- 
chanical arts  among  men.  But  neither  are  the  instinctive 
labors  of  animals,  nor  the  mechanical  arts  of  man,  in  any 
proportion  to  the  acuteness  of  touch,  or  to  the  perfection  of 
the  external  instruments.  A  great  number  of  insects  exhibit 
peculiar  instincts  before  their  antennge  or  instruments  of 
touch  are  developed.  Many  animals  have  those  instruments 
to  which  peculiar  faculties  are  attributed,  without  being  pos- 
sessed of  the  corresponding  functions.  Would  it  not  be 
more  natural  to  suppose  that  apes  and  monkeys  should 
possess  the  power  of  constructing,  because  they  have  hands, 
than  that  the  beaver  should  build  because  it  has  a  tail? 


EXTERNAL  SENSES 


285 


Monkeys,  indeed,  have  hands,  they  can  put  wood  on  a  fire, 
they  also  are  very  sensible  to  cold  and  warmth,  but  have 
they  understanding  enough  to  keep  up  the  fire  ?  According 
to  the  opinion  announced,  insects,  crawfish,  lobsters,  and 
especially  cuttlefish,  ought  to  have  exact  ideas  of  extension, 
of  size  and  of  geometry,  in  consequence  of  their  numerous 
and  perfect  organs  of  touch. 

The  external  instruments,  moreover,  are  often  similar, 
while  the  functions  are  quite  different.  There  is  a  great 
variety  in  the  form  and  texture  of  the  cobwebs,  which  dif- 
ferent species  of  spiders  make  to  catch  files.  What  diversity 
of  structure  in  the  nests  of  birds  whose  bills  are  similar  ? 
Animals  of  the  same  genus  vary  much  in  their  food,  and  in 
their  manner  of  living.  The  large  titmouse  builds  its  nests 
in  hollow-trees ;  the  long-tailed  titmouse  in  clefts  of  branches ; 
the  bearded  titmouse  among  reeds;  the  titmouse  of  Poland 
suspends  its  delicate  and  curious  dwelling  from  a  slender 
bough;  the  cuckoo  again,  though  endowed  with  all  the 
requisites  for  building,  constructs  no  nest  whatever.  The 
hare  and  rabbit  have  feet  exceedingly  alike,  yet  the  hare  lies 
in  the  open  fields,  while  the  rabbit  makes  a  burrow. 

On  the  contrary,  similar  acts  are  performed  by  animals 
with  a  variety  of  dissimilar  instruments.  The  proboscis  is 
to  the  elephant  what  the  hand  is  to  man  and  to  the  monkey. 
It  is  by  means  of  the  bill  that  the  swallow  attaches  her  nest  to 
the  wall,  and  that  the  thrush  cements  the  interior  of  her's, 
while  it  is  by  means  of  his  tail  that  the  beaver  covers  his 
hut  with  mud.  The  hands  of  monkeys,  and  the  feet  of 
parrots  and  squirrels,  are  certainly  different;  yet  all  hold  up 
their  food  when  they  eat ;  the  hog  ploughs  the  earth  with  his 
snout,  and  the  dog  scratches  it  with  his  feet,  in  digging  up 
truffles.  In  the  same  way  similar  internal  faculties  produce 
similar  effects  by  means  of  perfectly  different  instruments. 

Again,  man  and  animals  exhibit  many  faculties  which 
cannot  be  considered  as  effects  of  external  instruments.  Wlio, 
for  example,  can  show,  from  any  external  organ,  that  crows 
should  live  in  society,  and  magpies  in  pairs  ?  that  the  cuckoo 
and  chamois  should  be  wild  by  nature,  and  the  pigeon  and 


2S6 


PHRENOLOGY 


goat  tameable?  that  bustards  and  cranes  should  place  senti- 
nels ?  that  ants  should  gather  provisions,  &c.  ?' 

Finally,  even  in  the  human  kind,  there  is  no  proportion 
between  manifestations  of  faculties  and  perfection  of  external 
instruments.  If  man  owe  his  arts  to  his  hands,  why  do  not 
idiots  invent?  Why  do  painters  drop  the  pencil,  sculptors 
the  chisel,  and  architects  the  rule  and  compass,  as  soon  as 
their  understanding  is  fatigued  ?  and  why  do  many  bring 
forth  stupendous  works  hy  the  assistance  of  crippled  hands 
or  of  stumps  ?  Who  can  measure  the  architectural  talent 
from  the  conformation  of  the  hands  ?  These  considerations 
prove  that  the  external  instruments  do  not  produce  the 
faculties.  I  do  not  however  deny  their  importance ;  I  should 
even  admit  some  relation  between  internal  faculties  and 
external  instruments.  Without  instruments  the  internal 
faculties  could  not  manifest  themselves ;  without  muscles,  the 
will  could  not  move  a  limb;  without  hands,  or  some 
equivalent,  we  could  not  seize  any  object;  carnivorous  ani- 
mals could  not  destroy  without  claws  and  teeth ;  without  these 
instruments,  therefore,  they  could  not  subsist.  Moreover,  as 
the  instruments  are  more  perfect,  the  manifestations  of 
internal  faculties  are  also  more  perfect.  ^Nevertheless,  it  is 
unquestionable  that  the  propensities  and  intellectual  faculties 
which  make  use  of  the  external  instruments,  must  be  derived 
from  within. 

We  have  still  to  consider  whether  or  not  acuteness  of  feel- 
ing produces  the  instinctive  labors  of  animals  and  the  me- 
chanical arts  of  man.  Experience  proves  that  it  does  not. 
There  is  no  proportion  between  fineness  of  skin  or  acuteness 
of  feeling,  and  manifestation  of  the  faculties  of  the  mind. 
Some  individuals  have  rough  hands  and  an  obtuse  feeling, 
and  yet  produce  surprising  works.  'No  artist  ever  judged  of 
the  capacity  of  his  pupils  from  this  acuteness  of  touch.  It 
is  even  still  a  question  whether  man's  sense  of  touch  is  more 
acute  than  that  of  animals.  It  is  generally  believed  to  be  so, 
because  his  skin  is  destitute  of  hair  and  covered  with  a  very 
thin  epidermis  only,  while  the  lower  animals  are  clothed  with 
hair  or  feathers.    There  are  some  tribes,  however,  which  have 


EXTERNAL  SENSES 


28T 


no  hair,  as  the  elephant,  the  Turkish  dog,  snails,  &c;  and 
whose  sense  of  feeling  is  very  acute.  Other  animals,  though 
covered  with  hair,  immediately  feel  the  smallest  insects  which 
alight  on  their  bodies.  Finally,  it  is  even  impossible  to 
conclude  that  because  the  skin  is  covered  with  hair,  feeling  is 
less  acute.  Sometimes  in  diseases  the  hairy  scalp  of  man 
grows  extremely  sensible,  and  the  least  movement  of  the  hair 
gives  excessive  pain;  the  epidermis  is  thickest  at  the  points 
of  our  fingers,  yet  there  feeling  is  considered  as  the  most 
acute.  Consequently,  the  nerves  of  touch,  though  covered 
with  hair,  may  be  even  more  sensible  than  when  destitute  of 
such  a  covering,  and  it  is  by  no  means  obvious  that  the  feeling 
of  man  is  more  acute  than  that  of  animals. 

The  wisdom  then  of  Solon,  Socrates,  and  Plato,  and  the 
masterly  productions  of  Homer,  Euclid,  Kaphael,  and  others, 
were  not  the  result  of  their  mere  hands ;  nor  are  the  surpris- 
ing instincts  of  animals  the  effects  of  their  antennsg,  feet, 
teeth,  proboscis,  or  tails.  I,  however,  repeat,  that  it  must  be 
allowed  that  the  external  instruments,  though  they  are  not 
in  proportion  to  the  internal  faculties,  cannot  be  in  contradic- 
tion to  them;  and  that  the  internal  faculties  perform  their 
functions  with  greater  facility  and  more  accuracy  as  the 
external  instruments  are  more  perfect.  Therefore,  the  hand 
of  man,  which  is  composed  of  so  many  movable  parts,  ca- 
pable at  every  moment  of  changing  their  direction,  and  of 
grasping  external  bodies  is  fitter  for  appreciating  tactile 
qualities  than  the  feet  of  birds  invested  with  scales,  or  of 
quadrupeds  covered  with  a  horny  substance.  Yet  it  is  never- 
theless certain,  that  the  external  instruments  are  never  the 
cause  of  the  internal  faculties. 

5.  It  may  be  asked,  whether  feeling  produces  ideas  of  con- 
sistency, of  hardness,  of  softness,  of  solidity  and  fluidity,  of 
weight  and  resistance  ?  I  think  it  does  not.  For  the  mind, 
to  examine  these  qualities  of  bodies,  employs  the  muscular 
system,  rather  than  the  sense  of  feeling  properly  so  called. 
There  is  also  no  proportion  between  the  faculty  of  measuring 
such  qualities,  and  the  sense  of  feeling,  or  the  muscular 
system.    Moreover,  the  sense  of  feeling  being  lost,  if  the 


PHRENOLOGY 


muscular  power  remain,  we  may  perceive  weight  and  con- 
sistency. 'Now  tlie  muscles  are  excited  by  internal  causes, 
and  therefore  ideas  of  weight,  resistance  and  consistency  are, 
in  my  opinion,  the  result  of  some  internal  faculty.  I  once 
for  all  observe  generally,  that  when  any  function  results  from 
the  active  state  of  an  external  sense,  the  faculty  which  con- 
ceives the  idea  is  internal.  We  have  seen  above,  that  the 
faculties  which  take  cognizance  of  extent  and  size,  form  and 
number,  are  internal.  In  this  manner  we  may  also  con- 
ceive how  internal  faculties  employ  different  external  senses, 
if  that  be  possible,  and  how  sometimes  they  can  make  use 
only  of  a  single  sense.  The  mind,  for  instance,  wishes  to 
move  the  body  from  one  place  to  another,  and  this  can  be 
done  only  by  means  of  the  muscular  system ;  the  mind  wishes 
to  perceive  music,  and  this  also  can  be  done  only  by  means 
of  the  auditory  nerve;  but  the  mind  wishes  to  perceive  the 
size  or  form  of  a  body,  and  this  may  then  be  done  either  by 
the  sense  of  sight  or  by  that  of  feeling.  ^Notwithstanding 
these  modifications,  it  remains  always  certain  that  every  re- 
action of  the  mind  upon  external  bodies  has  its  cause  in  some 
internal  faculty,  while  the  sensations,  which  result  from  the 
passive  state  of  the  five  external  senses,  constitute  their 
immediate  sphere  of  activity. 

Taste. 

No  feeling  and  no  intellectual  faculty  having  been  sup- 
posed to  be  derived  from  the  sense  of  taste,  there  is  no 
occasion  to  speak  of  this  sense  here. 

8mell. 

A  great  number  of  physiologists  ascribe  to  the  sense  of 
smell  the  surprising  faculty  by  means  of  which  many  animals 
discover  and  return  to  their  dwellings  from  very  great  dis- 
tances; but  there  are  many  facts  of  this  kind  which  cannot 
be  explained  by  smell  alone.  A  dog,  for  example,  at  the 
end  of  several  months,  and  from  a  distance  of  more  than  a 
hundred  leagues,  finds  his  former  dwelling  and  master, 


EXTERNAL  SENSES 


though  he  has  been  carried  away  in  a  coach;  though  it  has 
rained  repeatedly  during  this  interval  of  time;  though  he 
has  gone  by  water  and  comes  back  by  land;  though  he  is 
obliged  to  make  circuits  instead  of  taking  the  nearest  way; 
and  though  the  wind  has  changed  in  all  directions.  Pigeons, 
likewise,  though  transported  to  a  distance  of  twenty  or  fifty 
leagues,  and  shut  up  for  several  weeks,  return  to  their  former 
cotes ;  the  falcon  of  Iceland,  confined  for  many  months,  often 
flies  away  in  the  first  moment  of  its  liberation:  these,  and 
similar  phenomena,  cannot  be  explained  by  the  sense  of  smell. 
It  is  necessary  to  admit  another  superior  faculty,  sometimes 
called  the  sixth  sense. 

Hearing. 

A  very  common  opinion  is,  that  music  and  language  are 
results  of  the  sense  of  hearing.  But  this  is  not  the  case.  I 
shall  first  show  that  this  sense  cannot  produce  music.  Le  Cat, 
Ackermann  and  others,  think  that  the  cochlea  is  the  most 
important  part  of  the  ear,  and  the  principal  instrument  of 
the  musical  faculty.  The  latter  has  accordingly  maintained 
that  man  alone  had  the  cochlea.  Different  quadrupeds, 
however,  possess  this  part  even  more  perfect  than  man,  as 
sheep,  cats,  dogs  and  hogs,  and  these  animals  certainly  are 
not  fond  of  music.  Hence,  the  opinion  of  Ackermann  and 
of  Le  Cat  is  erroneous.  Besides,  birds,  whose  ear  is  almost 
destitute  of  this  part,  sing.  Le  Cat,  aware  of  this  contradic- 
tion, answered,  that  the  whole  skull  in  birds  is  more  sonorous 
than  in  quadrupeds,  because  it  is  less  covered  with  muscles; 
he  thinks  that  if  nature  had  joined  a  cochlea  in  addition,  they 
would  have  been  still  more  sensible  to  melodious  sounds,  and 
as  passionately  fond  of  music  as  almost  all  animals  are  of 
food ;  but,  continues  he,  as  birds  are  destitute  of  the  cochlea, 
their  musical  talent  depends  more  on  their  throat.  Le  Cat 
is  mistaken :  there  is  a  great  number  of  singing  birds  whose 
skulls  are  covered  proportionately  with  more  muscles  than 
those  of  some  quadrupeds,  the  ant-eater,  for  instance.  The 
heads  of  the  goldfinch,  bulfinch,  chaffinch,  linnet,  &c.,  are 
covered  with  considerable  muscles  while  that  of  the  green 

19 


PHRENOLOGY 


woodpecker,  whicli  certainly  is  not  a  melodious  bird,  is  almost 
destitute  of  them.  The  heads  of  the  hoarse  March  thrush, 
of  the  monotonous  cuckoo,  of  the  miserable  chatterer  of 
Bohemia,  &c.,  are  not  covered  with  more  muscles  than  the 
skull  of  the  sweet  mocking  bird,  of  the  melodious  black  bird, 
and  of  the  vineyard  thrush,  with  its  delightful  song.  If  we 
suppose  that  the  whole  skull  of  birds  is  sonorous,  the  only 
consequence  to  be  drawn  from  it  would  be,  that  a  weak  sound 
is  greatly  strengthened  in  them;  but  why  certain  birds  are 
so  fond  of  singing,  and  why  some  nightingales  continue  their 
song  till  they  die  from  exhaustion,  would  be  quite 
inexplicable. 

Hearing  in  general  cannot  produce  music,  because  there  is 
no  proportion  either  in  animals  or  in  man  between  it  and 
musical  talents.  Many  hear  very  acutely,  and  are  yet  in- 
sensible to  music.  Among  birds,  the  female  hears  as  well 
as  the  male ;  if  hearing  then  produce  music,  why  does  not  she 
also  sing?  Among  men  there  are  some  whose  hearing  is 
very  obtuse,  and  whose  talent  for  music  is  very  considerable. 
Finally,  hearing  cannot  produce  music,  because  hearing  per- 
ceives only  tones  which  are  already  produced.  The  first 
musician  produced  music  from  an  internal  impulse,  and  that 
music  of  course  he  had  never  previously  heard.  Singing 
birds,  moreover,  which  have  been  hatched  by  strange  females, 
sing  naturally  and  without  any  instruction  the  song  of  their 
species,  as  soon  as  the  internal  organ  of  the  faculty  is  active. 
Hence  the  males  of  every  species  preserve  their  natural  song 
though  they  have  been  brought  up  in  the  society  of  indi- 
viduals of  different  kinds;  hence,  also,  musicians  who  have 
lost  their  hearing  continue  to  compose;  hence  likewise  the 
deaf  and  dumb  have  an  innate  feeling  of  measure  and 
cadence. 

Le  Cat  confounds  the  crying  of  dogs  at  the  sound  of  a 
hunting  horn,  and  the  stamping  and  neighing  of  horses  at 
the  blast  of  a  trumpet,  with  the  faculty  of  music.  If  it  were, 
we  must  allow  that  fishes,  reptiles,  and  even  spiders  which 
are  allured  by  sound,  are  sensible  to  music.  Buffon,  Dumas, 
Bichat,  and  others,  think  that  the  talent  of  music  depends 


EXTERNAL  SENSES 


on  the  equality  of  the  power  of  hearing  with  both  ears.  If, 
how^ever,  inequality  of  power  in  the  ears  sufficed  to  destroy 
the  perfection  of  the  musical  ear,  a  good  musician  would  be 
extremely  rare;  for  by  far  the  greatest  number  of  men  hear 
better  with  one  ear  than  with  the  other.  Dr.  T.  Brown 
compares  the  pleasure  of  music  in  the  ear,  with  tickling  in 
the  nerves  of  touch.  ISTow  some  persons  are  ticklish,  others 
are  not.  So  some  persons  have  a  musical  ear,  others  have 
not.  This  is  mere  assertion;  and  refuted  by  observations 
already  mentioned.  We  therefore  maintain  that  hearing 
does  not  produce  music.  It  is,  however,  necessary  to  per- 
ceive and  to  execute  it ;  but  this  consideration  belongs  to  the 
chapter  on  the  sphere  of  activity  of  each  faculty,  and  here  I 
intend  only  to  prove  that  hearing  cannot  produce  music. 

Some  authors  derive  music  and  the  vocal  powers  of  birds 
from  the  larynx.  But  if  the  larynx  gives  the  instinct  to 
sing,  why  do  not  all  animals  endowed  with  this  part  manifest 
the  faculty  ?  Cuvier  has  also  found  that  the  larynx  of  many 
birds  which  sing,  and  of  others  which  do  not,  is  similar  in 
structure.  What  difference  is  there  between  the  throats  of 
the  females  and  males  of  the  same  species  ?  Is  there  even 
in  man  any  proportion  between  the  agreeableness  of  the  voice 
and  musical  talents  ?  ^ay,  have  not  many  individuals  great 
musical  talent  and  little  voice ;  and  do  not  others  sing  very 
agreeably  without  excelling  in  music  ?  Music,  therefore,  is 
neither  the  result  of  hearing  nor  of  the  voice. 

It  is  also  a  very  common  opinion  that  hearing  alone,  or 
hearing  and  voice  conjointly,  produce  the  faculty  of  speech. 
The  best  way  of  refuting  this  error  is  to  inquire  in  what 
language  consists,  and  how  it  is  produced  ?  Language  in 
general  is  the  medium  by  which  sensations  and  ideas  are 
communicated,  and  this  may  be  effected  by  sounds,  gestures, 
or  other  signs.  Language,  farther,  may  be  divided  into  two 
kinds:  natural  and  artificial,  or  conventional. 

It  is  a  natural  law  that  the  internal  faculties  of  man  and 
animals,  as  soon  as  they  are  active,  manifest  themselves  by 
the  media  between  them  and  the  external  world, — the  five 
external  senses,  and  muscular  motion.    These  external  mani- 


292 


PHRENOLOGY 


festations  take  placs  according  to  determinate  laws,  and 
though  modified  in  every  species  of  animal,  they  are  always 
conformable  to  certain  kinds  of  sensations  or  ideas;  they 
constitute  the  natural  language.  The  horse  neighs,  the  lamb 
bleats,  the  cow  lows,  the  child  cries,  &c.  according  to  their 
wants.  This  natural  language  is  general,  because  all  animals 
require  to  communicate  their  sensations,  were  it  only  for 
sexual  purposes. 

Animals  have  only  natural  language,  which  consists  partly 
of  sounds  and  partly  of  gestures,  like  the  natural  language 
of  man.  But  man  has,  besides  his  natural  language,  the 
faculty  of  producing  arbitrary  signs,  whether  sounds  or 
gestures.  Animals,  on  the  contrary,  are  destitute  of  the 
power  of  producing  arbitrary  signs,  though  they  have  also  that 
of  learning  those  of  man.  I  shall,  hereafter,  consider  the 
faculty  which  produces  arbitrary  signs,  and  that  which  learns 
them.  I  here  intend  only  to  prove  that  neither  hearing  nor 
voice  produces  the  faculty  of  speech,  and  that  both  stand  in 
the  same  relation  to  language  as  they  do  to  music,  that  is, 
that  they  are  only  certain  intermedia  or  means  of  manifes- 
tation. There  are  animals  which  can  pronounce  words, 
imitate  various  sounds,  and  hear  very  well,  but  which,  never- 
theless, have  no  arbitrary  language.  Some  imperfect  idiots 
also  hear  and  pronounce  with  facility  the  words  taught  them, 
but  cannot  maintain  a  conversation.  Their  mode  of  com- 
munication or  their  language  becomes  consistent  in  proportion 
to  their  internal  faculties.  Moreover,  if  orators  and  poets 
become  insane,  their  eloquence  is  changed  into  incoherent 
raving.  It  is  therefore  evident  that  the  faculty  of  speech  does 
not  result  primitively  from  the  voice  and  hearing. 

Besides  the  faculties  of  speech  and  music,  there  are  others 
still  which  act  upon  the  external  world  by  means  of  hearing, 
and  which  are  commonly  attributed  to  this  sense.  Here  I 
must  mention  an  error  which  was  once  very  common,  and 
into  which  even  Kant  and  Herder  have  fallen ;  namely,  that 
it  is  impossible  to  communicate  any  abstract  notion  to  the 
deaf  and  dumb.  Le  Cat  says,  that  the  deaf  are  more  unfor- 
tunate than  the  blind,  because  many  truths  are  heard  and 


EXTERNAL  SENSES 


093 


very  few  are  seen.  Herder  even  thought  that  the  deaf  and 
dumb  imitate  all  they  see  done,  whether  good  or  evil.  These 
and  similar  erroneous  opinions  result  partly  from  the  common 
mistake,  that  our  sensations  and  notions  are  produced  by  the 
external  senses,  that  nothing  exists  in  the  mind  except  what 
passes  by  tliem,  and  partly  also  from  supposing  that  arbitrary 
vocal  language  produces  sensations  and  ideas.  It  is,  how- 
ever, certain,  that  all  the  internal  faculties  may  exist  without 
hearing;  and,  consequently,  that  deaf  persons  in  whom  this 
sense  alone  is  wanting  may  manifest  all  the  other  faculties; 
they  are  destitute  only  of  the  means  of  communication  which 
hearing  supplies,  and  are,  therefore,  obliged  to  make  use  of 
others.  Hence  they  impart  their  sensations  and  ideas,  that 
is,  they  speak  by  gestures. 

8igU. 

We  have  still  to  examine  whether  sight  produces  any  intel- 
lectual faculty.  It  is  commonly  supposed  that  the  art  of 
painting  is  derived  from  the  sense  of  sight ;  and  it  is  certainly 
true  that  eyes  are  necessary  to  perceive  colors,  as  are  ears  to 
perceive  sounds ;  but  the  art  of  painting  no  more  consists  in 
the  perception  of  colors,  than  music  in  the  apprehension  of 
sounds.  Sight,  therefore,  and  the  faculty  of  painting  bear 
no  proportion  to  each  other.  The  sight  of  many  animals  is 
more  perfect  than  that  of  man,  yet  they  do  not  paint;  and 
even  among  mankind,  the  talent  of  painting  cannot  be  meas- 
ured by  the  acuteness  of  sight.  Great  painters  never  attribute 
their  power  to  their  eyes.  They  say,  it  is  not  the  eye,  but 
the  understanding  which  perceives  the  harmony  of  colors. 

From  all  these  considerations  it  follows,  that  many  intel- 
lectual faculties,  which  have  been  attributed  to  the  five 
external  senses,  do  not  belong  to  them. 

O]^  THE  Sphere  of  Activity  of  the  Extert^al  Senses. 

The  external  senses  destined  to  bring  man  and  animals  into 
commimication  with  the  external  world  may  be  divided  into 
two  sorts.  By  means  of  the  first  two  in  number,  we  are 
acquainted  with  external  bodies  when  they  touch  the  sentient 
organs  immediately.    These  are  touch  and  taste.    The  sec- 


PHRENOLOGY 


ond,  including  tlie  remaining  senses,  perceives  remote  bodies. 
I  do  not  say  that  perception  or  sensation  can  take  place  in 
a  sense  which  is  not  affected  by  some  immediate  impression : 
this  is  an  indispensable  condition;  but  to  say  that  we  are 
acquainted  with  remote  bodies  and  their  qualities,  is  not  to 
say  that  we  perceive  without  impressions.  This  latter  phrase 
would  be  contradictory  and  absurd.  We  perceive  remote 
bodies  either  by  particles  detached  from  them,  and  carried 
to  a  sentient  organ,  as  to  the  olfactory  nerve,  or  we  perceive 
them  by  intermedia,  as  light  and  air.  In  both  cases  it  is 
certain  that  man  and  animals  become  acquainted  with  remote 
bodies  and  their  qualities. 

In  general  only  five  external  senses  are  spoken  of,  but  it  is 
necessary  to  speak  with  greater  precision.  I  therefore  first 
separate  the  general  expression,  sensation,  from  the  deter- 
minate sensation  of  hunger  and  thirst ;  secondly,  from  volun- 
tary motion,  to  which  voice  belongs ;  and  in  the  third  place, 
from  the  sense  of  feeling  as  well  as  from  touch.  I  consider 
the  word  sensation  as  an  expression  altogether  general. 
Every  act  of  consciousness,  or  every  perception  of  an  impres- 
sion, whether  external  or  internal,  is  sensation.  Hunger  and 
thirst,  then,  constitute  a  particular  class  of  sensations  at- 
tached to  particular  nerves ;  and  voluntary  motion  ought  not 
to  be  confounded  with  the  sense  of  feeling  as  is  generally 
done.  Tor  many  years  I  have  been  convinced,  by  anatomical, 
physiological  and  pathological  proofs,  that  the  nerves  of 
motion  and  feeling  are  quite  different.  This  difference  is 
spoken  of  by  Ilerophilus,  who  believed  that  it  must  exist,  as 
voluntary  motion  is  sometimes  impossible,  while  feeling  re- 
mains or  is  even  increased  in  acuteness,  and  as  feeling  is 
oftentimes  lost  while  voluntary  motion  continues.  In  modern 
days,  Reil  has  stated  that  the  medulla  of  the  nerves  produces 
sensation,  and  their  investment  motion;  but  entire  nerves — • 
nerves  consisting  of  both  these  parts — are  distributed  to  the 
muscles  in  which  there  is  motion,  and  to  the  skin  in  which 
there  is  sensation.  Besides  the  pathological  proof  of  the 
difference  between  the  nerves  of  motion  and  of  feeling,  con- 
sidered in  all  my  publications,  since  1815,  the  physiological 


EXTERNAL  SENSES 


and  anatomical  reasons  made  me  believe  in  the  existence  of 
these  two  sorts  of  nerves.  As  to  the  details  of  this  discussion 
and  of  my  claims  to  priority  of  this  doctrine,  I  refer  the 
reader  to  the  third  section  of  my  work  on  the  Anatomy  of 
the  Brain.  Thus,  the  functions  of  the  muscles  exist  inde- 
pendently of  the  five  external  senses,  and  are  only  combined 
with  these  that  they  may  be  aided  in  accomplishing  their 
offices.  From  the  preceding  considerations  it  results,  that 
the  greater  number  of  functions,  commonly  attributed  to  the 
senses,  do  not  belong  to  them,  but  depend  on  the  existence  of 
internal  faculties.  The  external  senses  as  intermedia  of 
the  exhibition  of  mental  powers,  which  they  are,  in  fact, 
have  certain  functions  that  may  be  called  mediate,  while 
those  which  the  senses  themselves  suffice  to  perform,  may  be 
styled  immediate.  In  other  words,  the  immediate  percep- 
tions depend  on  the  external  senses,  while  the  mediate  func- 
tions permit  the  acquisition  of  determinate  ideas  conceived 
by  internal  faculties. 

According  to  the  observations  in  the  first  section  of  this 
work,  on  sensibility,  the  brain  seems  to  be  necessary  to  every 
kind  of  perception,  even  to  that  of  the  immediate  functions 
of  the  external  senses ;  but  it  is  not  yet  ascertained,  though 
it  is  probable,  that  one  fundamental  power,  inherent  in  a 
particular  part  of  the  brain,  knows  and  conceives,  as  sensa- 
tions, all  the  varied  impressions  made  on  the  external  senses. 
Some  phrenologists  think  that  each  external  sense  has  a 
peculiar  portion  of  brain  for  this  end,  and  that  the  combined 
action  of  its  nerve  and  of  this  cerebral  part  is  necessary 
to  the  accomplishment  of  its  functions.  That  the  nerve  of 
taste  and  a  portion  of  brain,  for  instance,  are  necessary  to 
perceive  savors;  the  olfactory  nerve  and  a  cerebral  part  to 
distinguish  odors,  &c.  I  do  not  believe  that  consciousness 
happens  without  brain,  but  I  see  no  reason  to  surmise  that 
the  immediate  functions  of  each  external  sense  require  a 
particular  portion  of  the  brain  in  order  to  be  recognised  as 
determinate  sensations. 

Let  us  now  consider  the  immediate  functions  of  each 
individual  sense. 


PHRENOLOGY 


Immediate  Functions  of  the  Seme  of  Feeling, 

Feeling  is  the  most  extensive  of  all  the  senses;  it  is  con- 
tinued not  only  over  the  whole  external  surface  of  the  body, 
but  even  over  the  intestinal  canal.  It  produces  the  most 
general  perceptions  of  pain  and  pleasure,  sensations  of 
temperature,  of  dryness  and  moisture.  All  its  other  func- 
tions which  procure  notions  of  existing  objects  and  their 
relations,  are  only  mediate.  In  my  opinion,  even  the  ideas 
of  roughness  and  smoothness  belong  to  an  internal  faculty, 
namely,  configuration.  The  mediate  function  of  the  sense 
of  feeling  may  be  called  touchy,  of  which  the  sphere  of  activity 
is  very  considerable  and  important:  it  is  particularly  com- 
bined with  the  nerves  of  voluntary  motion,  and  the  two  kinds 
together  may  assist  the  functions  of  all  internal  faculties,  as 
well  affective  as  intellectual.  Hence  the  reason  why  nerves 
of  feeling  and  motion  are  most  intimately  connected  with  the 
organs  of  the  affective  and  intellectual  faculties.  The  five 
external  senses,  it  may,  indeed,  be  readily  conceived,  should 
be  in  connexion  with  those  cerebral  organs  which  they  par- 
ticularly assist;  and  farther,  as  the  nerves  of  motion  and  of 
feeling  may  aid  all  internal  faculties,  that  they  should  be  in 
connexion  with  all  the  internal  organs,  just  as  the  nerves  of 
feeling  and  motion,  mutually  aidant,  are  connected  with 
each  other. 

Taste. 

Taste  is  the  second  sense  by  means  of  which  man  and 
animals  are  made  acquainted  with  external  bodies,  when  these 
touch  the  sentient  organ  immediately.  After  feeling,  this 
sense  seems  to  be  the  most  general  and  the  most  indispensable 
of  all  to  living  beings  which  consciously  take  food.  It  seems 
also  that  it  is  active  early  in  life.  The  fifth  pair  of  nerves, 
branches  of  which  are  distributed  to  the  membrane  covering 
the  palate,  the  velum  pendulum,  the  pharynx,  and  chiefly 
to  the  tongue,  is  of  great  size  in  new-bom  children,  as  are 
the  nerves  of  motion  and  feeling  also. 

An  opinion  commonly  prevails  that  the  acuteness  of  taste 
depends  not  only  on  the  nervous  papilla?  of  the  tongue,  but 


EXTERNAL  SENSES 


297 


also  on  its  flexibility,  softness  and  moisture.  Ackermann, 
who  derives  tlie  perfection  of  the  human  mind  from  the 
acuteness  of  the  five  senses,  asserts  that  the  nerves  of  taste 
are  proportionally  more  considerable  in  man  than  in  animals ; 
that  the  tongue  of  man  is  the  most  flexible  and  soft,  and  that 
its  nervous  papillae  are  covered  with  the  finest  skin.  In 
many  animals,  however,  as  in  the  dog,  monkey,  &c.  the  skin 
of  the  tongue  is  as  thin  and  fine,  and  its  structure  as  flexible 
as  in  man.  The  mobility  of  the  tongue  has,  indeed,  less 
relation  to  the  taste  than  to  the  function  of  speech.  The 
principal  condition  to  an  acute  taste  is  certainly  large 
gustatory  nerves  spread  over  a  considerable  surface;  but  in 
this  point  many  animals  surpass  man.  In  some,  the  lingual 
nerve  as  well  as  the  whole  fifth  pair,  is  much  larger  than  in 
the  human  kind;  the  nervous  papillae  of  the  tongue  are  also 
more  numerous  and  their  apices  more  extensive.  Though  the 
tongue  of  several  species  is  covered  with  a  very  rough  skin, 
they  distinguish  and  select  certain  plants  conformable  to 
their  taste,  and  reject  others  which  are  contrary  to  it.  More- 
over, when  we  see  that  eating  is  to  animals  the  most  exquisite 
and  permanent  pleasure,  and  that  great  numbers  pass  almost 
their  entire  existence  in  eating  or  ruminating,  we  shall  with 
difficulty  deny  them  a  taste  more  perfect  than  that  of  man. 

I  cannot  agree  with  those  naturalists,  who  maintain  that 
the  taste  of  birds  is  very  obtuse.  Blumenbach  has  shown 
that  the  organ  of  taste  is  large,  and  the  sense  very  exquisite 
in  the  duck.  A  great  number  of  birds  do  not  swallow  their 
food  suddenly;  the  titmouse,  for  example,  laps  it.  The 
greater  number  of  birds  which  live  upon  insects,  seeds,  and 
berries,  crush  and  bruise  them.  If  we  present  the  canary 
bird,  the  bulfinch,  or  nightingale  with  different  sorts  of  food, 
each  of  them  will  choose  that  which  is  most  agreeable.  If 
we  give  ants'  eggs  to  young  nightingales,  many  rather  die 
of  hunger  than  eat,  because  unacquainted  with  that  sort  of 
food ;  and  if  we  even  put  them  into  their  bill,  they  commonly 
drop  them ;  the  eggs,  if  crushed,  however,  are  swallowed  with 
the  greatest  avidity;  it  is  evident  from  this  that  their  taste 
is  very  acute.    Even  the  birds  which  swallow  their  food 


298 


PHRENOLOGY 


suddenly,  as  fowls,  pigeons  and  others,  distinguish  different 
berries  and  seeds  with  the  extremity  of  their  bill.  If  we  mix 
the  seed  of  vetches  with  that  of  robinia  caragana,  pigeons  and 
fowls  will  pick  them  up  indiscriminately,  but  will  always 
throw  away  the  latter.  These  birds  therefore  like  others, 
prefer  one  sort  of  food.  Tame  storks,  accustomed  to  catch 
rats  and  mice  thrown  towards  them,  jerk  these  several  times 
into  the  air  and  catch  them  again  in  their  bill,  in  order  to 
crush  before  swallowing  them.  If  we  cast  a  toad  to  them, 
however,  they  will  catch  still,  but  immediately  drop  it.  They 
also  eat  bees  and  large  flies  greedily;  but  regularly  reject  any 
other  insect  which  does  not  please  their  palate.  Such  also  is 
the  case  with  swallows  and  other  birds  which  live  on  insects. 

These  observations  render  it  improbable  that  every  in- 
soluble body  is  insipid,  or  that  every  substance  to  affect  the 
organ  of  taste  must  be  dissolved  in  the  mucus  which  covers 
the  tongue.  In  many  physiological  writings,  the  axiom  of 
chemistry,  corpora  non  agunt  nisi  soluta,  is  applied  to  the 
organ  of  taste.  ^  The  tongue,'  says  Richerand,  '  is  covered 
by  a  mucous,  whitish  yellow,  or  bilious  slime.  This  covering, 
more  or  less  thick,  prevents  the  immediate  contact  of  sapid 
particles,  and  we  have  only  a  false  idea  of  tastes.  All  ali- 
ments seem  bitter  if  a  bilious  disposition  exist,  or  insipid  if 
there  be  a  superabundance  of  mucus.'  The  tongue,  however, 
it  appears,  may  perceive  many  spirituous,  oleaginous,  or 
other  impressions  produced  by  seeds  and  insects,  without 
their  being  dissolved  and  mixed  with  the  mucus  which 
covers  it. 

M.  Dumeril,  Professor  of  Physiology  at  Paris,  maintains 
(in  an  essay  on  the  smell  of  fishes)  that  fishes  are  destitute 
of  taste ;  this  sense,  according  to  him,  being  supplied  by  that 
of  smell.  Fishes,  says  he,  have  not  the  hypoglossal  nerve, 
and  the  continual  pressure  of  the  water  must  blunt  the  sensi- 
bility of  the  lingual  nerve,  ^^ow  supposing  that  fishes  were 
destitute  of  the  hypoglossal  nerve,  it  would  not  follow  that 
they  had  no  taste;  for  the  hypoglossal  serves  only  for  the 
motion  of  the  tongue,  while  a  branch  of  the  fifth  pair  which 
exists  in  fishes,  is  the  sole  organ  of  taste.  The  tongues  of 
many  fishes  are  covered  with  numerous  nervous  papillae,  and 


EXTERNAL  SENSES 


299 


at  the  point  are  even  moveable,  flexible,  and  soft.  Hence 
there  is  not  only  no  anatomical  reason  to  deny  taste  to  fi.shes, 
but  it  is  even  from  their  possessing  this  sense  that  they  may 
be  taken  with  a  bait,  xlgain,  if  the  pressure  of  water  blunt 
their  taste,  why  should  it  not  blunt  their  smell  also?  But 
pressure  produces  no  such  effect ;  the  sole  of  the  foot  does  not 
lose  its  sensibility,  though  pressed  on  during  a  long  life.  In 
short,  this  opinion  of  Dumeril  seems  more  remarkable  for  its 
singularity  than  for  its  correctness. 

The  very  lowest  tribes  of  the  animal  world  must  also  have 
nerves  of  taste.  Insects  prefer  different  kinds  of  food, 
though  their  gustatory  nerves  have  not  yet  been  discovered. 

isTeither  in  man  nor  in  animals  can  taste  be  considered  as 
an  infallible  guide  to  the  wholesomeness  of  the  body  tasted. 
Unsavory  articles  may  be  wholesome,  while  substances  which 
please  the  palate  may  act  as  poisons. 

The  taste  of  the  sick  often  affords  an  indication  in  dis- 
tinguishing, or  in  aiding  nature  in  the  cure  of  disease;  no 
good  physician,  however,  will  have  unbounded  confl.dence  in 
it.  The  sense  of  taste  is  necessarily  in  most  intimate  rela- 
tionship with  the  whole  digestive  system.  I  have  already 
mentioned  that  this  sense  is  modified  in  different  kinds  of 
animals,  and  in  different  individuals  of  the  same  kind,  even 
in  different  ages,  and  in  the  healthy  or  diseased  state.  As  the 
organ  of  taste  is  the  first  developed,  so  it  seems  to  lose  its 
activity  last.  Old  persons  commonly  love  good  cheer,  which 
is  also  necessary  for  them.  When  sight  has  failed,  when  the 
ear  no  longer  does  its  office,  when  the  skin  has  become  stiff 
and  almost  insensible,  the  aged  may  often  be  seen  eating  and 
drinking  as  heartily  and  with  as  much  pleasure  as  their 
grand-children. 

The  sphere  of  activity  of  this  sense  is  confined  to  sensa- 
tions of  taste ;  that  is,  it  perceives  only  impressions  of  savor. 
Mediately,  it  assists  nutrition.  The  nerves  of  taste  have  the 
most  intimate  connexion  with  those  necessary  to  the  motion 
of  the  jaws,  with  those  of  the  organ  of  voice,  and  with  the 
glossopharyngeal  nerve.  Accordingly  the  organs  on  which 
these  nerves  are  expanded  exert  the  greatest  mutual  influence. 


300 


PHRENOLOGY 


Smell. 

By  means  of  smell  the  external  world  begins  to  act  upon 
man  and  animals  from  a  distance.  Odorous  particles  de- 
tached, inform  them  of  the  existence  of  particular  bodies. 
Several  physiologists  regard  smell  as  a  completion  or  a  finer 
and  higher  degree  of  taste.  But  the  system  of  the  olfactory 
nerve  is  particular.  It  is,  as  it  were,  the  explorer  and  the 
guide  of  the  sense  of  taste,  and  must  exist  very  low  in  the 
scale ;  insects  are  attracted  by  odors,  but  their  olfactory  nerve 
has  not  been  discovered. 

Dumeril,  supposing  fishes  to  have  no  taste,  regards  smell 
as  its  substitute ;  and  in  support  of  his  opinion  maintains, 
that  odoriferous  particles  cannot  be  transmitted  by  water. 
We  have  already  seen  that  the  organ  of  taste  exists  in  fishes, 
and  it  is  not  probable  that  nature  has  produced  any  organic 
apparatus  without  an  appropriate  object.  It  is  besides 
strange  to  maintain  that  odoriferous  particles  are  not  trans- 
mitted by  water,  as  fish  of  various  sorts,  lobsters,  &c.  are  taken 
by  bait.  It  is  remarkable  that  this  sense  does  not  exist  in 
cetaceous  animals,  which  occupy  so  high  a  place  in  the  scale 
of  being.  Dumeril  thinks  also  that  their  taste  supplies  the 
place  of  smell. 

It  is  admitted  that  many  animals  excel  man  in  acuteness 
of  smell;  their  olfactory  apparatus  being  much  larger.  But 
this  occurs  indifferently  among  the  most  stupid  and  the  most 
intelligent  animals — in  oxen  and  hogs,  in  dogs  and  horses. 

Cuvier  maintains  that  the  olfactory  nerve  is  larger  in 
carnivorous  than  in  herbivorous  animals;  but  there  is  no 
relation  between  the  acuteness  of  smell,  and  the  instinct  to  eat 
flesh  or  vegetables.  Man,  who  is  omnivorous,  and  the  sea- 
calf  which  lives  only  on  fish,  have  both  very  small  olfactory 
nerves.  The  turtle,  mole,  sheep,  ox,  horse,  &c.  however 
different  their  food  is,  have  an  olfactory  nerve  proportion- 
ally larger  than  the  wolf,  dog,  tiger,  &c.  Comparative  anat- 
omy, therefore,  as  also  comparative  physiology,  oppose 
Cuvier's  opinion.  Many  hundreds  of  plants  supply  herbiv- 
orous animals  with  food,  while  the  carnivora  live  commonly 


EXTERNAL  SENSES 


301 


upon  a  smaller  variety  of  Hesh;  to  distinguish  their  food, 
therefore,  the  organ  of  smell  in  herbivorous  should  be  larger 
than  in  carnivorous  animals.  Moreover,  if  nature  endowed 
carnivorous  animals  with  a  very  acute  smell  for  the  purpose 
of  discovering  their  prey,  it  is  improbable  that  she  refused 
the  weak  victim  an  equal  advantage  to  enable  it  to  detect  and 
escape  its  enemies. 

Odors  act  powerfully  upon  the  brain ;  we,  therefore,  apply 
stimuli  to  the  olfactory  nerves,  which  often  revive  sensibility 
in  cases  of  suspended  animation. 

The  smell  in  its  immediate  functions  perceives  odorous 
particles  emanating  from  external  bodies,  without  any  refer- 
ence to  the  object.  All  functions  besides  are  mediate.  It 
assists  the  faculty  which  conceives  the  existence  of  the  world, 
and  informs  man  and  animals  of  the  existence  of  food;  it 
assists  farther  individual  propensities,  as  amativeness,  ali- 
mentiveness,  adhesiveness,  philoprogenitiveness,  &;c.  To  that 
effect  the  olfactory  nerve  seems  to  have  a  particular  con- 
nexion with  the  anterior  lobes,  and  convolutions  of  the  brain 
situated  sideways,  outwards,  and  backwards.  The  nose  is 
near  the  mouth,  taste  and  smell  bearing  close  relations  one  to 
another. 

Hearing. 

Hearing  is  the  second  sense  which  makes  man  and  animals 
acquainted  with  remote  existences,  and  is  the  first  which 
perceives  external  objects  by  an  intermedium,  the  air.  The 
auditory  nerve  is  found  from  man  down  to  the  cuttle-fish; 
farther  it  has  not  been  distinguished,  though  several  animals, 
lower  in  the  scale,  are  not  destitute  of  hearing.  The 
auditory  apparatus  is  more  complex  as  animals  are  more 
perfect,  and  this  is  the  case  both  with  the  external  and  inter- 
nal ear.  Except  Ackermann,  all  physiologists  allow  that 
many  animals  surpass  man  in  the  faculty  of  hearing.  That 
physiologist,  however,  deriving  human  intellectual  superi- 
ority solely  from  the  external  senses,  asserts  that  the  hearing 
of  man  is  the  most  perfect,  on  account  of  the  cochlea  of  his 
ear,  which  according  to  him  is  the  most  essential  part,  and  is 


303 


PHRENOLOGY 


wanting  in  animals.  But  this  assertion  may  be  refuted  both 
anatomically  and  physiologically.  First,  it  is  certain  that 
the  organ  of  hearing  is  more  perfect  in  many  animals  than 
in  man;  that  their  external  ear  is  larger,  more  moveable, 
and  capable  of  being  turned  in  all  directions  and  opposed 
to  soniferous  undulations.  Moreover,  the  auditory  apparatus 
of  many  animals  has  large  cavities  which  increase  the  son- 
orous vibrations,  and  which  cannot  be  confounded  with  the 
mastoid  process  of  man ;  in  some,  these  are  empty ;  in  others 
they  are  divided  into  compartments;  and  in  the  ox  are  com- 
posed of  many  concentric  partitions.  The  auditory  nerve  is 
also  much  larger  in  many  animals,  as  the  ox,  horse,  stag, 
sheep,  &c.  than  in  man;  and  the  cochlea  not  only  exists 
among  them,  but  is  in  many  even  more  perfect  than  in  the 
human  kind.  Hence,  it  is  anatomically  proved,  that  the 
organ  of  hearing  is  in  many  animals  larger  and  more  perfect 
than  in  man.  The  same  may  be  demonstrated  physio- 
logically. In  observing  the  functions  of  animals,  we  may 
convince  ourselves  that  many  of  them  perceive  sounds  which 
are  imperceptible  to  man. 

The  sense  of  hearing  is  not  active  in  new-bom  children,  but 
it  improves  by  degrees,  and  in  proportion  as  its  apparatus  is 
developed.  In  the  same  way  the  auditory  power  declines  in 
proportion  as  the  vigor  of  the  organ  decreases.  Several 
authors  maintain  that  the  deafness  of  old  persons  depends 
on  the  blunted  sensibility  of  the  auditory  nei^e;  they  think 
that  repeated  impressions  exhaust  sensibility.  It  is,  indeed, 
true,  that  sensibility  is  blunted  and  exhausted  by  too  great 
exercise;  but  I  think  that,  in  the  ordinary  state  of  health, 
dulness  of  hearing  in  old  persons  depends  on  the  decrease  of 
the  auditory  apparatus.  In  the  young  and  healthy,  the 
auditory  nerve  is  expanded  in  a  humor  which  occupies  the 
cavities  of  the  internal  ear;  this  in  the  aged  diminishes  at 
the  same  time  that  the  nerve  itself  decreases.  Hence,  when 
Pinel,  during  the  severe  winter  of  1798,  caused  the  skulls  of 
several  old  women  who  had  lost  their  hearing  to  be  frozen 
and  then  opened,  he  found  the  cavities  of  the  internal  ear 


EXTERNAL  SENSES 


303 


perfectly  empty,  while  they  were  filled  with  ice  in  younger 
persons  who  had  died  with  this  sense  unimpaired. 

The  immediate  functions  of  the  sense  of  hearing  are 
confined  to  the  perception  of  sounds;  yet  it  assists  a  great 
number  of  internal  faculties  which  are  commonly  attributed 
to  it.  It  potently  aids  the  affective,  as  well  as  the  intel- 
lectual faculties  of  space,  individuality,  tune,  speech,  and 
through  the  instrumentality  of  these,  all  the  other  powers  of 
the  mind.  The  auditory  nerve,  indeed,  has  a  nearer  con- 
nexion with  the  organs  of  the  feelings  than  of  the  intellectual 
faculties ;  it  embraces  the  nervous  bundle  of  the  cerebellum, 
and  is  connected  with  the  vocal  nerves ;  the  voice  called  forth 
by  command  of  the  feelings,  as  well  as  the  natural  language 
of  their  activity,  is  more  energetic  than  when  summoned  by 
the  intellectual  faculties  to  aid  them  in  the  expression  of 
their  desires. 

We  may  conceive  that  the  sense  of  hearing  bears  relation 
to  the  internal  faculties  which  act  by  its  means ;  precisely  as 
even  external  objects  are  in  harmony  with  internal  faculties, 
or  internal  faculties  with  external  objects;  as  the  laws  of 
vibrations,  for  instance,  though  they  exist  in  external  vibrat- 
ing objects,  are  conformable  to  the  laws  of  the  internal 
faculty  of  tune;  or  as  size,  number,  and  succession,  which 
exist  in  the  external  world,  are  in  relation  to  certain  internal 
faculties.  Yet  this  sense,  like  all  others,  presents  infinite 
modifications  in  different  beings,  even  of  the  same  species. 

Sight. 

Sight  is  the  second  sense  which  informs  man  and  animals 
of  remote  objects  by  means  of  an  intermedium,  light.  Those 
who  attribute  the  excellence  of  man's  intellectual  faculties 
to  the  perfection  of  his  senses,  maintain  that  his  sight  is 
better  than  that  of  animals.  They  consider  this  superiority 
as  a  result  of  the  greater  distinctness  with  which  they  say 
objects  are  seen  by  man ;  to  the  transparency  of  the  diapha- 
nous parts  of  his  eye ;  to  the  irritability  of  his  iris,  and  to  the 
position  of  his  crystalline  lens.  Richerand  even  believes 
that  the  pigmentum  nigrum  impedes  and  disturbs  the  dis- 


304 


PHRENOLOGY 


tinctness  of  vision ;  and  that  perhaps  on  this  account  animals 
have  false  and  exaggerated  ideas  of  the  power  of  man.  Ex- 
perience answers  these  errors.  The  iris  of  many  animals 
is  very  moveable,  and  they  see  during  both  the  day  and  night, 
and  to  greater  distances  than  man.  The  falcon  perceives 
the  heron,  still  invisible  to  man ;  the  eagle,  beyond  the  reach 
of  human  sight,  sees  a  hare  upon  the  ground ;  the  turkey  and 
fowl  recognise  the  far  distant  bird  of  prey,  and  warn  their 
surrounding  broods,  when  it  is  impossible  for  man  to  dis- 
tinguish the  enemy.  It  cannot  be  denied,  therefore,  that  the 
sense  of  sight  is  more  acute  in  many  animals  than  in  man. 

l^one  of  the  senses  has  occupied  physiologists  and  phi- 
losophers more  than  sight  and  touch ;  but  these  have  also  been 
the  subjects  of  the  greatest  number  of  errors.  Many  false 
notions  have  been  and  are  still  current,  in  regard  to  vision. 
Dr.  T.  Brown  reproduces  various  misconceptions  of  his 
predecessors. 

This  sense  has  been  said  to  acquire  its  faculty  either  by 
touch  or  by  habit.  But  I  have  already  proved,  in  speaking 
of  the  generalities  of  the  external  senses,  that  no  one  acquires 
its  faculty  from  any  other  or  from  habit.  Vision  depends  on 
the  organization  of  the  eye ;  and,  according  to  this,  it  is  weak, 
energetic,  good  or  bad.  Some  animals  enter  the  world  with 
perfect  eyes,  and  they  see  accurately  from  the  first.  The 
butterfly  and  honey-bee  fly  on  the  first  attempt  through  the 
fields,  from  flower  to  flower;  and  the  partridge  and  chicken 
as  soon  as  they  have  left  the  shell,  run  through  stubbles  and 
corn,  while  other  animals  born  blind  distinguish  size,  shape, 
and  distance  of  bodies,  only  by  slow  degrees.  This  is  the 
case  in  the  human  kind.  I  cannot  insist  too  forcibly  on  this 
truth ;  every  sense  has  its  own  laws,  and  its  functions  depend 
on  the  state  of  its  organization.  In  the  looking-glass  we  must 
see  ourselves  and  other  objects  enlarged,  diminished,  length- 
ened, shortened,  multiplied,  near,  distant,  and  so  forth, 
according  to  the  laws  of  the  reflection  of  light. 

Some  also  maintain,  that  without  the  sense  of  touch  our 
e^^es  would  represent  all  objects  reversed  and  double:  and 
that  the  external  world  would  seem  to  be  in  the  eyes,  because 


EXTERNAL  SENSES 


305 


it  is  painted  on  the  retina.  Objects  are  actually  reversed  in 
the  eyes ;  but,  as  Berkeley  and  Condillac  have  elucidated,  they 
are  not  painted  on  the  retina,  that  nervous  expansion  is  only 
impinged  on  by  the  rays  of  light.  How  or  why  we  see  objects 
upright,  is  not,  however,  explained.  An  internal  faculty 
makes  animals  acquainted  with  the  external  world,  and  they 
are  more  disjDosed  to  transfer  all  internal  sensations  and 
ideas  of  external  bodies  to  the  outward  world,  than  to  con- 
centrate impressions  of  these  inwardly.  According  to  a  law 
of  nature,  the  impressions  of  our  senses  are  not  merely  trans- 
ferred into  the  external  world,  but  are  even  carried  to  the 
places  whence  they  come.  We  deem  the  sonorous  body  to  be 
in  the  direction  from  whence  come  vibrations  of  the  air. 
And  if  animals  take  wind,  they  do  not  look  for  the  impres- 
sions received  in  a  direction  opposite  to  that  whence  they 
proceed.  Impressions  of  light  are  also  referred  to  the  place 
whence  they  emanate ;  and,  consequently,  such  as  arrive  from 
above  are  referred  upwards,  those  from  below  downwards, 
and  the  object  is  thus  seen  in  its  right  position. 

"No  one  recollects  having  in  his  infancy  seen  any  object 
reversed,  and  natural  history  presents  no  such  example  in 
animals.  According  to  the  absurdities  into  which  speculators 
have  run,  young  birds  ought  to  take  the  root  of  a  tree  for  its 
top.  It  is  unfortunate  that  natural  philosophers  and  physiol- 
ogists in  examining  the  functions  of  the  senses,  have  confined 
their  reasonings  to  man  alone,  thus  excluding  animals  en- 
tirely. I  have  now  spoken  of  vision  being  single,  although 
the  impressions  are  double;  of  the  eye's  capacity  to  dis- 
tinguish distance;  and  shown  that  animals'  inability  to 
measure  distances  exactly  between  themselves  and  external 
bodies  only  occurs  when  their  eyes  are  imperfect.  Thus  the 
organ  of  vision  has  its  peculiar  faculty,  whose  manifestations 
depend  on  the  state  of  the  eye's  organization;  and  vision, 
like  every  other  sense,  is  subject  to  invariable  laws  of  its 
own.  A  straight  stick,  half  plunged  in  water,  must  needs 
appear  crooked.  In  a  vessel  filled  with  water,  we  see  a 
stone  or  other  body  at  the  bottom,  which  is  invisible,  circum- 
stances remaining  the  same,  with  the  exception  of  the  vessel 

20 


306 


PHRENOLOGY 


being  empty.  The  most  learned  men,  notwithstanding  all 
conviction  to  the  contrary,  see  images  behind  the  looking- 
glass,  as  do  parrots  and  monkeys.  We  see  our  persons  re- 
versed in  the  concavity  of  a  spoon,  our  right  hand  on  the  left 
side,  and  our  left  on  the  right ;  but  in  a  conic  mirror,  convex 
in  the  circumference  and  concave  from  the  basis  to  the  apex, 
we  see  our  persons  also  reversed,  but  the  right  side  opposite 
the  right,  and  the  left  opposite  the  left,  as  in  a  common 
looking-glass.  We  know  that  the  last  two  in  an  avenue  of 
trees  are  as  distant  from  each  other  as  the  nearest,  yet  the 
distance  appears  to  decrease  as  they  are  more  remote.  A 
square  tower  from  afar  off  appears  round ;  and  mighty  trees, 
in  the  distance,  seem  no  larger  than  small  bushes  at  hand. 
All  these  and  similar  conceptions  are  necessary,  and  in 
accordance  with  the  laws  of  optics. 

Those  who  reproach  the  sense  of  sight  with  committing 
the  errors  I  have  refuted,  call  to  their  aid  the  experiment  of 
Cheselden  on  a  person  bom  blind.  As  in  Cheselden's  own 
account  of  the  experiment,  there  is  no  mention  of  double  or 
reversed  vision  after  the  operation,  Le  Cat  therefore  said, 
that  these  persons  were  acquainted  with  the  situation  of 
objects  by  touch,  and  consequently  could  not  easily  be  misled 
by  their  sight  when  it  was  acquired.  I,  however,  ask  why 
they  were  not  acquainted  with  the  size  and  shape  of  objects  ? 
and  why,  though  feeling  informed  them  that  objects  touched 
not  the  surface  of  their  bodies,  they  still  seemed  to  touch 
their  eyes  ?  This  even  happened  in  Cheselden's  case  of  the 
blind-born  individual  who  underwent  the  second  operation 
twelve  months  after  the  first;  and  who,  consequently,  was 
already  acquainted  by  the  one  eye  with  external  bodies,  and 
with  their  size  and  shape;  yet  the  testimony  neither  of  his 
touch  nor  of  his  sound  eye  was  sufficient  to  persuade  his 
other  eye  that  portraits  were  not  elevated  objects. 

Diderot  has  very  well  answered  this  reproach  made  against 
sight.  Pictures,  says  he,  produced  the  same  effect  upon 
savages  when  they  saw  them  for  the  first  time.  They  took 
portraits  for  living  persons;  they  spoke  to  them,  and  were 
much  astonished  at  receiving  no  answer.    We  ought  to  con- 


EXTERNAL  SENSES 


307 


sider,  continues  Diderot,  that  vision  cannot  be  perfect  before 
the  organization  is  perfect.  The  humors  of  the  eye  must 
have  become  clear,  the  iris  must  be  conveniently  dilatable, 
the  retina  neither  too  little  nor  too  highly  sensible,  and  the 
whole  eye-ball  fit  for  exerting  all  the  particulars  necessary  to 
distinct  vision.  He  also  said  very  well ;  sight  is  not  necessary 
in  order  to  be  sure  by  touch  that  any  substance  exists;  why 
should  touch  be  necessary  to  sight  in  order  to  be  sure  by  sight 
that  the  same  thing  exists  ? 

Mr.  Wardrop's  case  *  of  a  lady  who  was  blind  from  the 
earliest  age,  and  received  sight  by  the  operation  of  an 
artificial  pupil,  when  she  had  reached  her  46th  year,  confirms 
every  one  of  my  ideas  on  the  functions  of  sight.  As  Miss 
D"^***  could  only  see  with  one  eye  it  was  superfluous  to  ask 
her  about  double  vision.  She  perceived  external  objects, 
but  stated  to  be  in  moving  about  more  uneasy  than  she  was 
before  the  operation,  from  fear  of  hurting  herself  against 
the  objects.  She  never  fancied  that  she  saw  them  in  her 
eye,  though  she  saw  their  distance  very  imperfectly.  She 
at  once  distinguished  large  bodies  from  small  ones ;  but  when 
I  saw  her  the  first  time,  she  seemed  unable  to  discern  well 
their  forms.  Variously  colored,  viz.  yellow,  red,  white, 
blue,  and  greenish  wafers  were  sho^m  to  her,  the  different 
colors  produced  different  sensations  in  her  mind;  and  that 
of  yellow  was  the  most  agreeable.  It  did  not  seem  prudent 
to  fatigue  the  eye  too  much,  and  we  confined  our  experiments 
to  one  more  with  respect  to  motion.  I  placed  a  glass  of 
water  on  the  table,  requesting  her  to  take  it.  On  approach- 
ing her  hand  towards  and  near  it,  I  moved  it  to  a  greater 

*  I  remain  thankful  to  Mr.  Wardrop,  though  I  cannot  help  being 
surprised  by  his  omitting  my  name  in  his  paper,  read  before  the  Royal 
Society  of  London,  on  the  15th  June,  1826,  and  inserted  in  their 
philosophical  transactions.  He,  however,  knew  that  I  indicated  the 
few  experiments  which  were  made  in  order  to  ascertain  what  notions  the 
lady  had  of  size,  form,  position,  color,  distance  and  motion.  Meeting 
me  before  the  house  where  she  lived,  he  spoke  to  me  of  the  case,  and 
kindly  offered  to  bring  me  to  the  patient.  No  one  who  knows  my 
anxiety  about  the  knowledge  of  men,  will  doubt  that  I  immediately 
availed  myself  of  his  kind  offer.  It  was  on  the  third  of  March,  1826, 
and,  as  I  was  told,  fourteen  days  after  the  last  operation. 


308 


PHRENOLOGY 


distance ;  upon  which  she  immediately  said,  ^  you  move  it, 
you  take  it  away.' 

Mr.  Wardrop  and  the  patient  allowed  me  to  see  her  again 
on  the  8th  of  March.  Meanwhile  I  had  marked  with  ink 
on  paper  several  figures  of  different  forms,  some  of  the  same 
form  with  different  size,  such  as  a  small  and  large  circle,  a 
small  and  large  square,  &c.  She  easily  perceived  the  differ- 
ent sizes,  and  after  having  been  desired  to  draw  with  the 
finger  on  her  other  hand,  the  forms  she  drew  under  the  names 
long,  round,  square,  similar  forms  were  shown  to  her,  and 
she  pointed  to  them  exactly.  She  was  sensible  of  number. 
In  order  to  ascertain  that  she  saw  the  objects  in  their  natural 
and  not  in  a  reversed  position,  nor  the  right  side  to  the  left, 
and  vice  versa,  I  had  prepared  a  figure  larger  on  one  end  and 
pointed  on  the  other,  and  as  she  distinguished  the  size  of  both 
ends,  I  bent  now  the  thinner  end  upward  and  then  downward, 
and  she  indicated  each  time  as  the  position  shown  to  her  was 
in  reality.  Another  figure  with  a  thinner  end  communicated 
with  the  pointed  end  of  the  former  figure,  and  she  never 
confounded  the  left  and  right  side  with  each  other.  Several 
differently  colored  ribbons  were  presented  to  her  eye ;  she 
perceived  different  impressions,  and  gave  a  decided  prefer- 
ence to  some  of  them,  to  yellow  for  instance,  and  then  to  pale 
pink.  She  called  the  two  latter  shades  pretty.  I  relate 
merely  the  particulars  as  I  observed  them  in  connexion  with 
phrenology;  the  rest  of  this  highly  interesting  case,  which 
claims  the  attention  both  of  physiologists  and  philosophers, 
may  be  seen  in  Mr.  Wardrop's  paper. 

The  immediate  function  of  sight  is  confined  to  the  percep- 
tion of  light.  All  its  other  offices  are  mediate.  The  eyes 
may  assist  all  the  external  senses,  all  the  affective  powers, 
and  all  the  intellectual  faculties.  The  connexion  of  the  optic 
nerve  with  the  brain  also  shows  that  sight  chiefly  assists  its 
posterior,  lateral,  and  anterior  part. 

Thus,  the  spheres  of  immediate  activity  of  the  five  senses 
are  very  limited:  feeling  perceives  only  dryness,  moisture, 
and  temperature;  taste  savors;  smell  odors;  the  ears  sound; 
and  the  eyes  light :  all  their  other  functions  are  only  mediate, 


EXTERNAL  SENSES 


309 


that  is,  internal  faculties  by  means  of  the  external  senses 
perceive  various  impressions,  conceive  peculiar  ideas,  recog- 
nise the  existence  of  bodies  and  their  qualities,  and  again 
act  upon  the  external  world,  by  means  of  the  senses  and 
voluntary  motion. 

The  chapter  on  the  external  senses  as  it  is  published  in 
the  first  volume  of  the  large  work,  entitled  Anatomical 
Physiologic  du  Systeme,  Sc.  has  been  elaborated  by  the 
joined  exertions  of  Gall  and  myself,  during  the  first  years 
of  our  stay  in  Paris.  The  reader  will  perceive  that  since 
that  time  I  have  limited  the  functions  of  the  external  senses, 
and  divided  them  into  immediate  and  mediate. 


CHAPTER  II. 

Gei^us  II.  OF  THE  Intellectual  Powers. 
Perceptive  Faculties. 

By  this  name  I  distinguish  certain  faculties  necessary  to 
acquire  those  notions  of  the  external  world  which  the  five 
senses  cannot  produce.  I  shall  in  the  first  place  make  some 
general  remarks  upon  the  forehead,  or  frontal  region  of  the 
brain,  in  which  their  organs  are  placed. 

In  comparing  one  kind  of  animal  with  another,  and  with 
man,  we  find  that  the  forehead  is  developed  in  relation  to 
the  intellectual  functions,  xlnimals  are  still  commonly  said 
to  act  by  instinct;  there  is  no  doubt,  however,  that  many 
of  them  know  the  objects  which  surround  them,  remember 
events  which  have  happened,  and  modify  their  actions  accord- 
ing to  these.  An  old  fox  having  escaped  many  snares,  and 
knowing  that  he  is  watched,  is  more  cautious,  and  far  slyer 
than  a  young  one,  in  his  approaches  to  the  poultry-yard. 
A  bird,  which  has  had  its  nest  once  destroyed,  conceives  the 
necessity  of  secreting  its  second  more  carefully,  even  of  con- 
structing it  with  greater  nicety  than  the  first.  A  dog  resists 
its  instinct  to  pursue  a  hare,  because  it  recollects  the  lashing 
received  on  a  former  occasion  for  having  followed  its  inclina- 
tion.   Similar  facts  might  be  infinitely  multiplied.  Those 


310 


PHRENOLOGY 


cited  prove,  that  animals  are  not  subjected  to  an  absolute 
necessity  in  their  actions,  but  that  they  are  in  a  certain  degree 
intellectual  and  susceptible  of  education.  Now  the  size  of 
their  foreheads  coincides  with  the  degree  of  their  understand- 
ing. The  brain  in  animals,  low  down  in  the  scale,  instead  of 
rising  and  forming  a  forehead,  is  even  inclined  downwards. 
By  degrees  it  becomes  horizontal,  then  elevated,  and  forms 
a  forehead  of  greater  or  less  capacity;  finally,  in  man,  it  is 
the  most  largely  developed,  and  expands  into  a  forehead 
which,  in  some  cases,  even  projects  beyond  the  plane  of  the 
face.  Physiognomists  have  universally  given  much  atten- 
tion to  the  developement  of  the  forehead.  Lavater  has  com- 
posed a  scale  of  foreheads  from  the  frog  to  the  Apollo 
Belvidere,  with  a  view  to  prove  the  relation  between  the 
front  lobes  of  the  brain,  and  the  intellectual  operations. 

It  is  a  curious  fact,  that  domestic  animals  have  the  fore- 
head more  developed  than  wild  ones,  and  that  animals  are 
tameable  in  proportion  as  their  forehead  is  developed.  The 
cause  of  the  tameableness  of  animals  has  long  been  sought 
after ;  and  it  has  been  asked,  whether  they  are  tame  by  nature, 
or  subdued  and  made  subservient  to  man  by  means  of  his 
understanding  ?  It  was  long  believed,  and  many  philosophers 
and  physiologists  still  think,  that  the  state  of  domesticity 
among  animals  is  solely  the  work  of  man.  But  this  opinion 
is  erroneous;  otherwise  why  should  we  find  it  impossible  to 
tame  every  species,  though  we  be  better  acquainted  with  their 
manners  now  than  were  the  men  of  two  thousand  years  ago, 
and  consequently  better  able  to  adapt  external  circumstances 
to  effect  this  end?  It  is  indeed  possible  to  tame  individual 
wild  animals,  a  single  chamois,  one  tiger,  and  so  on,  but 
never  the  whole  race  of  chamois  or  tigers.  The  hunting 
tigers  of  Tippoo  Saib,  wdiich  were  brought  to  the  tower  of 
London  after  the  fall  of  Seringapatam,  seemed  tame  only  to 
their  Indian  keeper,  and  to  the  persons  they  had  been  long 
accustomed  to  see ;  but  they  were  with  difficulty  retained  so, 
and  ultimately  became  fierce  and  untractable.  The  young  of 
undomesticated  animals,  kept  in  confinement,  are  always 
wild,  and  fly  into  solitude;  whilst  certain  creatures  are 


EXTERNAL  SENSES 


311 


domestic  against  our  wishes;  mice  every  where  infest  the 
abodes  of  man ;  and  dogs,  in  Egypt,  regarded  as  impure  and 
having  no  master,  nevertheless  haunt  villages  and  towns; 
never  stray  far  from  human  dwellings,  and  consequently  are 
originally  tame  and  domestic. 

Gall  speaks  of  a  peculiar  organ  of  educability  and  tame- 
ableness  in  animals;  he  shows  a  scale  to  prove  them  more 
tameable  in  proportion  as  their  foreheads  are  higher.  The 
latter  fact  in  itself  is  true;  but  Gall's  explanation  seems  to 
be  a  mistake.  The  forehead  is  certainly  not  occupied  by  a 
single  organ.  I  think  that  all  the  intellectual  faculties,  as 
also  the  feeling  of  benevolence,  contribute  to  render  animals 
tameable.  Gall  himself,  in  speaking  of  the  organ  of  benev- 
olence, says,  that  animals  endowed  with  it  are  more  docile 
and  more  serviceable  than  others.  I  consider  all  such  general 
observations  on,  and  comparisons  of  the  foreheads  of  different 
animals,  as  a  striking  manner  of  showing,  that  the  state  of 
developement  of  the  front  region  of  the  brain  coincides  with 
the  degree  of  the  understanding. 

All  philosophers  have  made  the  analysis  of  the  intellectual 
faculties  an  object  of  their  disquisitions,  and  all  physiogno- 
mists have  laid  great  stress  on  the  influence  of  the  forehead. 
Yet  the  analysis  of  the  intellectual  powers,  however  various, 
even  that  given  by  Gall,  is  still  very  defective,  and  the  deter- 
mination and  description  of  their  organs  are  very  inaccurate. 
I  have  discovered  five  organs  in  the  forehead,  in  addition  to 
those  mentioned  by  Gall,  and  have  introduced  a  more  accurate 
delineation  of  the  forehead  in  general,  and  of  the  greater 
number  of  its  organs  in  particular. 

The  common  observer  attaches  himself  to  the  perpendicular 
or  retreating  state  of  the  forehead,  in  order  to  decide  about 
its  greater  or  smaller  developement,  and  it  is  a  common 
objection  to  Phrenology  that  such  and  such  persons  have 
retreating  foreheads,  and  yet  are  very  clever.  The  forehead 
will  always  appear  retreating  when  the  lower  portion  is  more 
developed  than  the  upper;  yet  the  whole  forehead  may  be 
sm.all,  large,  or  of  various  sizes.  The  same  may  be  said  of 
perpendicular  foreheads,  which  happens  when  the  upper 


313 


PHRENOLOGY 


portion  is  as  prominent  as  the  lower.  Some  perpendicular 
foreheads  are  exceedingly  small  and  shallow,  and  their  mental 
dispositions  very  limited.  Hence  a  perpendicular  or  retreat- 
ing forehead  is  no  fixed  indication  of  talent  or  its  defect. 

In  order  to  judge  of  the  size  of  the  forehead,  or  of  the 
anterior  lobes  of  the  brain,  it  is  not  sufficient  to  look  at 
personis  in  a  front  view,  but  it  is  necessary  to  view  them  in 
profile,  since  the  anterior  lobes,  or  the  organs  of  the  intel- 
lectual faculties,  begin  with  constructiveness,  where  the 
frontal  bone  meets  the  sphenoidal.  The  portion  from  con- 
structiveness forward  is  the  forehead.  'Now,  in  a  retreating 
forehead  it  may  be  very  long  or  deep  at  the  lower  portion, 
and  a  perpendicular  forehead  may  be  very  short  or  shallow; 
so  that  the  moral  and  physical  appearances  correspond  with 
each  other. 

What  I  have  said  of  the  frontal  sinus,  in  the  section  on 
Craniology,  must  be  remembered  here,  as  far  as  the  frontal 
sinuses  impede  the  examination  of  several  organs  of 
perceptive  faculties. 

It  is  a  remarkable  fact,  that  the  forehead  increases  very 
early,  and  continues,  when  exercised,  to  grow  very  late  in 
life.  I  had  positive  observations  that  after  the  age  of  thirty- 
six  and  forty  years,  the  forehead  has  increased  an  inch  in  size. 

I  begin  with  considering  the  perceptive  faculties,  and  I 
take  the  following  view.  Several  make  us  acquainted  with 
the  existence  of  individual  objects  and  their  physical  quali- 
ties, others  perceive  the  different  conditions  and  relations 
concerning  place,  time,  number  and  order. 

Locke  and  Reid  made  a  distinction  between  primary  and 
secondary  qualities  of  matter.  Locke  called  primary  qualities 
extension,  divisibility,  figure,  motion,  solidity,  hardness, 
softness  and  fluidity;  and  secondary  qualities,  sound,  color, 
taste,  smell,  heat  or  cold.  Dr.  Reid  adds,  that  our  senses 
give  us  a  direct  and  distinct  notion  of  the  primary  qualities 
in  themselves,  but  only  a  relative  and  obscure  notion  of  the 
secondary  qualities. 

Dr.  T.  Brown  is  against  this  distribution  of  primary  and 
secondary  qualities  altogether,  and  admits  with  Kant,  and 


ORGAN  OF  INDIVIDUALITY 


313 


other  philosophers,  that  all  sensations  are  only  relative,  and 
that  we  never  know  the  things,  or  their  qualities  in  themselves. 

I  also  consider  all  knowledge  of  man,  as  mere  phenomenal ; 
but  give  a  new  analysis  of  the  powers  of  sensations  and 
perceptions.  I  greatly  limit  the  immediate  functions  of  the 
external  senses,  and  adopt  various  internal  powers  of 
perception. 

II^TELI.ECTTJAL  FACULTIES^  WHICH  PERCEIVE  THE  EXISTENCE 
OF  EXTERNAL  OBJECTS  AND  THEIR  PHYSICAL  QUALITIES. 

XXII.    Organ  of  Individuality. 

The  first  conception  our  understanding  must  have  of  ex- 
ternal objects  is  their  existence;  to  acquire  such  knowledge, 
the  external  senses  are  not  of  themselves  sufficient,  although 
without  an  impression  on  them  this  conception  cannot  be 
determinate.  The  organ  of  the  faculty  which  procures 
knowledge  of  external  objects  must  therefore  be  considered 
the  first  in  respect  to  the  order  in  which  the  intellectual 
faculties  operate  accordingly. 

I  speak,  under  the  name  Individuality,  of  the  faculty 
which  recognises  the  existence  of  individual  beings,  which 
embodies  several  elements  into  one  being  or  object,  as  tree, 
house,  man,  army,  navy,  &c.  whose  activity  and  presence  are 
denoted  by  substantives,  or  abstract  terms  in  language,  and 
which  in  all  probability  constitutes  the  personal  identity.  I 
acknowledge  that  objects  are  inseparable  from  their  qualities, 
and  that  these  constitute  objects,  but  I  think  it  possible  to 
conceive  an  existence  or  entity  without  knowing  its  qualities, 
as  God,  the  mind. 

Individuality  produces  what  Dr.  Reid  called  perception, 
as  different  from  sensation,  but  coextensive  with  it;  that  is, 
he  understood  by  sensation  merely  the  feeling  of  the  mind, 
which  immediately  follows  the  impression  from  without,  on 
any  of  our  organs  of  sense ;  and  by  perception  the  reference 
of  the  sensation  to  its  external  corporeal  cause.  Certain 
particles  of  adverse  matter,  for  instance,  act  on  the  olfactory 
nerve,  and  produce  a  peculiar  smell ;  this  is  sensation,  accord- 


314 


PHRENOLOGY 


ing  to  Dr.  Reid,  but  when  the  peculiar  sensation  is  referred 
to  an  object,  for  instance,  a  rose,  then  there  is  perception. 
This  is  the  effect  of  individuality. 

This  faculty  takes  cognizance  of  all  existences,  objects, 
things,  and  beings.  Aristotle  introduced  the  images,  ideas 
or  phantoms  in  the  mind,  in  order  to  explain  the  action  of 
sensual  organs  on  the  mind.  This  conception  is  exploded. 
Impressions  alone  are  admitted,  since  sounds  and  odors  can 
give  to  images.  The  figurative  and  metaphorical  language 
has  done  harm  in  philosophy  as  well  as  in  theology.  This 
faculty  prompts  those  who  have  it  strong,  to  use  their  senses 
with  reference  to  what  is  around  them.  It  makes  them  fit 
for  and  inclined  to  observation;  it  enables  them  to  see  and 
know  the  particularities  or  individualities.  This  faculty, 
therefore,  is  indispensable  in  every  practical  line ;  it  prompts 
to  the  study  of  natural  history,  geology,  mineralogy,  botany, 
&c.  It  is  strong  in  persons,  who  cultivate  any  branch  of 
natural  science  with  success,  it  predominates  in  those  who  are 
satisfied  with  individual  notions  of  objects  without  aiming 
or  arriving  at  principles.  It  is  a  fundamental  quality  of 
good  servants,  and  good  card-players.  It  assists  artists  in 
the  knowledge  of  the  particulars  of  their  art;  for  instance, 
musicians  in  the  knowledge  of  the  individual  notes  and  keys ; 
an  architect  in  having  the  particulars  of  a  building  present; 
a  mathematician  to  remember  the  parts  of  his  calculations. 
In  short,  it  gives  presence  of  mind  of  individualities,  and 
reality  to  our  conceptions. 

When  it  is  excessively  active,  it  is  like  all  other  powers, 
liable  to  be  abused,  and  originates  great  errors  in  philosophy, 
in  personifying  phenomena  and  abstract  ideas,  as  motion, 
life,  ignorance,  wisdom,  attention,  memory,  judgment,  &c.  &c. 
A^'lien  it  is  small,  the  individual  fails  to  observe  external 
objects.  He  may  visit  a  house,  and  come  away,  without 
knowing  what  objects  were  in  the  room.  Such  a  person  walks 
in  the  streets,  or  through  the  country,  and  observes  nothing. 
His  external  senses  may  be  in  perfect  health,  but  they  are  not 
called  into  activity;  when  this  observing  power  is  feeble, 
when  this  faculty  is  inactive,  persons  may  be  disposed  to 


ORGAN  OF  INDIVIDUALITY 


313 


deny  the  existence  of  external  objects,  and  not  to  see  objects 
before  them. 

The  skeptical  philosophy  of  Pyrrho  and  Bishop  Berkeley, 
is  accounted  for  by  the  defect  of  this  faculty.  It  is  impos- 
sible to  those  who  have  it  strong  to  deny  existence,  in  the  same 
way  as  a  person  endowed  with  great  causality  cannot  imagine 
an  effect  without  a  cause. 

The  cerebral  portion,  on  which  this  faculty  depends,  is 
situated  immediately  above  the  root  of  the  nose  between  the 
eyebrows;  its  greater  developement  enlarges  the  forehead  at 
this  spot;  its  elongation  contributes  to  the  beautiful  form  of 
nose  called  Grecian. 

This  organ  is  developed  in  early  age,  and  gives  to  young 
children  the  great  tendency  to  observe  the  external  world, 
and  to  become  acquainted  with  it.  It  is  therefore  advisable 
to  follow  this  indication  of  nature,  and  to  make  them 
acquainted  with  external  objects. 

Some  nations  have  this  organ  stronger  than  others;  the 
English  have  it  larger  than  the  Scots  in  general,  and  the 
Trench  again  have  it  larger  than  the  English. 

Dr.  T.  Brown  (Lect.  xxv.  and  xxv.)  says,  that  by  smell, 
taste,  sound  or  sight  alone,  we  could  not  become  acquainted 
with  the  existence  of  corporeal  substances ;  and  that  to  touch, 
which  procures  us  the  ideas  of  extension  and  resistance,  we 
are  indebted  to  refer  our  sensations  to  a  bodily  cause.  ^  If 
we  had,'  says  he,  ^  no  sense  but  that  of  smell,  no  sense  but 
that  of  taste,  no  sense  but  that  of  sound,  no  sense  but  that  of 
sight,  we  could  not  have  known  the  existence  of  extended 
resisting  substances,  and  therefore  could  not  have  referred 
the  pleasant  or  painful  sensations  of  those  classes  to  such 
external  causes,  any  more  than  we  refer  directly  to  an  ex- 
ternal cause  any  painful,  or  pleasing  emotion,  or  other 
internal  affection  of  the  mind.' 

Dr.  Brown  had  no  idea  of  individuality,  nor  of  the  other 
perceptive  powers  as  detailed  in  Phrenology. 


316 


PHRENOLOGY 


XXIII.    Organ  of  Configuration, 

Gall  was  desired  at  Vienna  to  examine  the  head  of  a  little 
girl,  who  had  extreme  facility  in  recollecting  persons;  he 
only  found  that  her  eyes  were  pushed  laterally  outwards,  and 
that  she  had  a  certain  squinting  look.  He  then  spoke  of  the 
organ,  whose  large  size  is  indicated  by  distance  between  the 
eyes,  as  that  of  the  sense  or  memory  of  persons.  Some  indi- 
viduals have  indeed  an  eminent  power  of  recollecting  those 
persons  they  have  once  seen,  while  others  possess  such  talent 
in  a  very  slight  degree.  This  difference  is  perceptible  in 
very  early  life,  and  is  very  remarkable  in  many  tribes  of 
animals.  Insects  recognise  individuals  of  their  own  kind 
and  of  their  peculiar  family.  Honey-bees  distinguish  those 
of  their  own  hive  from  those  of  others.  In  a  flock  of  sheep 
all  lambs  know  their  mothers ;  elephants  and  dogs  have  occa- 
sionally displayed  very  striking  powers  of  recognising  masters 
and  keepers  after  having  been  separated  from  them  for  a 
long  time. 

I  consider  the  faculty  under  discussion  in  the  following 
manner:  to  me  there  seems  to  exist  an  essential  and  funda- 
mental power,  which  takes  cognizance  of  configuration  gen- 
erally, and  one  of  whose  peculiar  applications  or  offices  is 
recollection  of  persons ;  for  persons  are  known  by  their  forms. 
I  separate  the  faculty  which  appreciates  configuration  from 
that  of  individuality,  since  we  may  admit  the  existence  of 
a  being  without  taking  its  figure  into  consideration.  Indi- 
viduality may  be  excited  by  every  one  of  the  external  senses, 
by  smell  and  hearing  as  well  as  by  feeling  and  sight,  while 
the  two  latter  senses  alone  assist  the  faculty  of  configuration. 
It  is  this  power  which  disposes  us  to  give  a  figure  to  every 
being  and  conception  of  our  minds;  that  of  an  old  man,  to 
God ;  to  death,  that  of  a  skeleton,  and  so  on.  The  knowledge 
of  configuration,  or  form,  is  essential  to  animals  and  men, 
with  respect  to  their  connexion  with  external  objects.  This 
power  is  active  from  the  earliest  age.  Children  are  delighted 
with  pictures,  and  at  the  age  of  maturity,  pictures,  dioramas, 
panoramas,  cosmoramas,  are  still  objects  of  delight.  E'ature, 
therefore,  is  always  the  best  book  to  read. 


ORGAN  OF  SIZE 


317 


The  organ  of  configuration  is  situated  in  the  internal  angle 
of  the  orbit ;  if  large,  it  pushes  the  eje-ball  towards  the  exter- 
nal angle  a  little  outwards  and  downwards.  (PL  X.  fig.  2. 
XX 1 11.)  It  varies  in  size  in  whole  nations.  Many  of  the 
Chinese  I  have  seen  in  London  had  it  much  developed.  It 
is  commonly  large  in  the  French,  and  contributes  to  bestow 
their  skill  in  producing  certain  articles  of  industry.  Com- 
bined with  constructiveness,  it  invents  the  patterns  of  dress- 
makers and  milliners.  It  leads  poets  to  describe  portraits 
and  configurations,  and  if  in  a  high  degree  of  developement, 
it  induces  those  who  make  collections  of  pictures  and  engrav- 
ings to  prefer  portraits.  It  is  essential  to  portrait-painters. 
Crystallography  also  depends  on  it;  and  to  me  it  appears, 
that  conceptions  of  smoothness  and  roughness  are  acquired  by 
its  means. 

Dr.  T.  Brown  thought  that  the  notion  of  figure  belongs  to 
that  of  extension,  and  that  at  the  same  time  we  cannot 
separate  length  and  breadth  from  color. 

XXIV.    Organ  of  Size. 

Notions  of  the  dimensions  or  size  of  external  objects  seem 
to  me  peculiar.  There  is  no  relation  between  such  concep- 
tions, and  the  senses  of  touch,  or  sight,  or  any  internal  faculty 
of  the  mind.  On  the  other  hand,  the  idea  of  dimension 
cannot  be  confounded  with  that  of  configuration,  for  bodies 
of  similar  forms  maybe  of  very  different  sizes,  and  vice  versa; 
and  these  two  sorts  of  ideas  are  not  acquired  with  like  facility. 
Some  easily  judge  of  form  and  cannot  distinguish  the  propor- 
tions of  size. 

The  power  of  size  is  important  to  geometricians,  architects, 
carpenters,  mechanicians,  portrait  painters,  and  to  every  one 
who  measures  dimensions.  It  measures  the  size  of  the 
heavenly  bodies  and  of  terrestrial  objects.  In  union  with 
locality  it  procures  the  conceptions  of  perspective.  Its  organ 
is  placed  at  the  internal  corner  of  the  superciliary  arch  on 
both  sides  of  individuality. 

Dr.  Brown  ascribed  the  notions  of  length  in  different 
directions  to  the  remembered  succession  of  muscular  feeling. 


318 


PHRENOLOGY 


XXV.    Organ  of  Weight  and  Resistance. 

Treating  of  the  sense  of  feeling,  I  mentioned  that  it  could 
not  excite  ideas  of  consistency,  density,  softness,  and  hard- 
ness, nor  of  weight,  lightness,  heaviness  or  resistance.  These 
notions  depend  on  an  internal  operation  of  the  mind  and 
require  a  particular  organ.  This  faculty,  then,  procures  the 
knowledge  of  the  specific  gravity  of  objects,  and  is  of  use 
whenever  weight  or  resistance  are  worked  upon  with  the 
hands,  or  by  means  of  tools ;  in  sculpturing,  carving,  turning, 
polishing ;  in  lifting  up  any  weight  by  the  lever,  or  any  ma- 
chine ;  in  resisting  the  pressure  of  the  opponent  in  boxing ;  in 
calculating  the  resistance  of  a  current,  the  tide,  or  pressure  of 
the  wind ;  to  direct  a  ship  in  certain  directions ;  in  using  the 
bow  with  dexterity;  in  keeping  the  hands,  arms,  and  body, 
steady  in  shooting;  in  touching  the  strings  or  cords  of  any 
musical  instrument  with  accuracy ;  it  is  therefore  necessary  to 
musical  performers,  be  it  on  the  harp,  violin,  violincello, 
pianoforte,  organ,  &c. ;  to  eminent  engineers,  as  far  as  the 
knowledge  of  momentum  and  of  statics  is  concerned ;  to  able 
printers,  particularly  of  copper  and  lithographic  plates ;  to 
clever  workmen  in  mosaic,  &c.  Mr.  Simpson,  in  an  essay, 
published  in  the  Phrenological  Journal,  vol.  ii.  p.  410,  pro- 
poses the  name  equilihrium  for  that  of  weight,  considering 
that  it  was  essential  to  our  animal  existence  that  we  should 
have  an  instinctive  perception  of  gravitation,  operating  con- 
stantly and  independently  of  reason.  That  state  of  rest,  says 
he,  which  the  law  of  gravitation  constitutes  the  natural  state 
of  all  bodies,  solid,  fluid,  and  aeriform,  is  called  their  equi- 
librium. The  simplest  animal  motions,  what  are  they  but 
alternate  disturbance  and  restoration  of  equilibrium?  The 
land  animal  walks  and  runs,  and  avails  itself  of  the  resistance 
of  the  earth ;  the  bird  flies  by  its  instinctive  perception  of  the 
resistance  of  the  air ;  the  fish,  using  its  fins  and  tail,  instinc- 
tively perceives  the  resistance  of  the  water.  Some  degree 
therefore  of  the  power  of  adapting  motions  to  the  law  of 
gravitation,  some  power  over  equilibrium  must  be  possessed 


ORGAN  OF  COLORING 


319 


by  the  whole  animated  creation,  for  without  it  it  is  plain 
they  must  perish. 

In  my  opinion  the  essence  of  the  intellectual  faculties  is 
knowing,  and  not  instinctive  action,  and  the  lower  animals 
do  without  knowledge  many  things  which  man  knows  in 
doing  them.  An  ant  may  find  an  object  too  heavy,  and  calls 
upon  others  of  its  tribe  for  assistance,  in  order  to  move  the 
object  to  the  common  abode,  without  any  notion  of  Aveight;  in 
the  same  way  as  a  squirrel  may  sit  down  on  its  hind  legs  and 
tail  whilst  eating,  without  any  perception  of  equilibrium.  I 
find  throughout  nature  a  difference  between  regular  actions 
and  the  powers  of  knowing  them.  Accordingly  I  consider  the 
power  in  question  as  destined  only  to  procure  notions  of 
gravity  and  resistance,  and  of  equilibrium;  farther,  such 
notions  may  influence  various  actions,  and  give  greater  dex- 
terity to  perform  them ;  for  instance,  to  keep  the  equilibrium 
in  standing,  walking,  and  gymnastic  exercises;  but  the 
impulse  to  swim,  fly,  or  stand  upright,  seems  to  me  different 
from  the  knowledge  of  doing  so  in  consequence  of  the  laws 
of  gravitation.  The  perception  of  the  equilibrium  belongs  to 
this  faculty,  and  its  disturbed  or  diseased  state  seems  to 
produce  giddiness,  and  even  seasickness,  as  Mr.  Simpson  first 
observed.  Moreover,  this  faculty  may  enable  us  to  be  easy 
in  looking  over  precipices  and  from  high  situations,  and  the 
effect  of  intoxication  may  be  attributed  in  a  great  measure 
to  its  deranged  functions ;  its  sphere  of  activity,  however, 
appears  to  reach  beyond  the  meaning  of  the  word  equilibrium, 
and  I  still  prefer  the  term  weight.  The  organ  is  small,  and 
situated  externally  of  that  of  size,  above  the  orbit  towards  the 
superciliary  ridge. 

XXVI.    Organ  of  Coloring. 

The  qualities  of  bodies  already  examined  are  the  most 
essential,  and  the  knowledge  of  them  is  also  more  important 
to  man  and  animals  than  of  the  quality  of  color.  In  speaking 
of  vision,  I  have  shown  that  it  is  insufiicient  to  bestow  excel- 
lence in  coloring  upon  the  painter.  The  eyes,  it  is  true,  per- 
ceive the  rays  of  light,  and  are  affected  agreeably  or  disagTee- 


320 


PHRENOLOGY 


ably  by  their  different  modifications  or  colors,  but  they  do 
not  conceive  the  relations  of  colors,  their  harmony  or  discord, 
and  have  no  memory  of  tints.  To  prove  this,  we  have  only  to 
compare,  in  man  and  animals,  the  faculty  of  perceiving  light 
vision  with  the  faculty  of  conceiving  colors.  I  am  not  certain 
that  animals  are  destitute  of  the  faculty  which  distinguishes 
color,  though  they  do  not  paint ;  for  there  is  a  great  difference 
between  producing,  and  being  capable  of  perceiving.  Ani- 
mals have  the  senses  of  smell  and  taste,  but  cannot  furnish 
them  with  enjoyments,  and  they  may  possibly  perceive  dif- 
ferent colors,  their  harmony  or  discord,  and  yet  be  incapable 
of  painting. 

Certain  persons  are  almost  destitute  of  the  power  of  per- 
ceiving colors.  I  know  a  family,  all  the  individuals  of  which 
distinguish  only  black  and  white;  Dr.  Unzer,  of  Altona, 
could  not  perceive  green  and  blue;  and  at  Vienna  I  saw  a 
boy  who  was  obliged  to  give  up  his  trade  of  a  tailor,  because 
he  could  not  distinguish  different  colors.  I  have  observed 
similar  instances  at  Paris,  Dublin,  Edinburgh,  and  London. 
Those  who  do  not  perceive  colors  have  sometimes  a  very  acute 
sight,  and  readily  appreciate  the  other  qualities  of  external 
bodies,  as  their  size  and  form.  There  is  nothing  more 
common  than  that  a  painter  should  be  an  admirable  draughts- 
man and  a  vile  colorist.  Thus,  as  the  faculty  of  perceiving 
and  employing  a  color  is  not  in  proportion  to  the  sense  of 
sight,  nor  to  the  understanding  in  general,  on  the  other  hand, 
sight  may  be  entirely  lost,  and  the  memory  and  judgment 
of  colors  preserved.  The  blind  traveller,  Mr.  Holman,  does 
not  feel  the  least  impression  of  the  strongest  light,  but  he 
recollects  the  various  colors  he  has  formerly  seen,  and  judges 
of  their  harmony  and  discord.  Hence  there  must  be  some 
particular  faculty  which  cognizes,  recollects,  and  judges  of 
the  relations  of  color.  It  is  necessary  to  painters,  dyers, 
enam.ellers,  and  to  all  who  are  occupied  with  colors.  It  is 
this  faculty  that  is  charmed  with  the  flower-garden  and  the 
enamelled  meadow,  and  sometimes  shows  an  extraordinary 
energy  and  correctness.  Goethe  relates,  that  the  workmen 
in  mosaic  at  Rome,  employ  fifteen  thousand  varieties  of 


ORGAN  OF  LOCALITY 


321 


colors,  and  fifty  shades  of  each  variety,  from  the  lightest  to 
the  darkest,  hence  in  all  750,000  shades.  He  adds,  that  this 
profusion  of  colors  is  sometimes  insufficient. 

The  faculty  which  takes  cognizance  of  colors,  is  more  active 
in  women  than  in  men,  generally  speaking,  and  in  certain 
nations  more  than  in  others.  Those  of  the  East  seem  to 
possess  it  in  a  high  degree.  It  is,  however,  necessary  to  dis- 
tinguish in  this  faculty,  as  in  every  other,  great  activity  from 
perfect  action  or  good  taste.  Moreover,  it  is  to  be  remarked 
that  this  faculty  perceives  the  harmony  of  colors,  but  does 
not  understand  how  to  adapt  coloring  to  the  subject  of  a 
picture.  This  depends  on  superior  intellectual  powers.  In 
the  first  acceptation,  many  women  are  good  colorists,  and  have 
attained  eminence ;  but  in  the  second,  as  in  all  other  depart- 
ments of  the  arts,  they  have  been  surpassed  by  men. 

The  organ  of  coloring  is  situated  in  the  middle  of  the  arch 
of  the  eye-brow.  Its  greater  developement  is  proclaimed  by 
a  full  and  much  arched  eye-brow ;  this  external  sign,  however, 
is  less  certain  than  when  the  arch  is  drawn  outwards  and 
upwards,  so  that  its  outer  part  is  more  elevated  than  the  inner. 
(PI  XL  fig.  1.  XXVL) 


CHAPTER  III. 

INTELLECTUAL  FACULTIES  WHICH  PERCEIVE  THE  RELATIOTsTS 
OF   EXTERNAL  OBJECTS. 

XXVIL    Organ  of  Locality. 

Though  Gall's  eyesight  was  very  good,  yet  he  could  not 
always  discover  or  recognise  the  places  where  he  had  been 
before.  One  of  his  fellow  students,  called  Scheidler,  on  the 
contrary,  had  a  surprising  facility  in  recollecting  localities, 
and  never  forgot  the  exact  place  w^here  he  had  in  his  rambles 
discovered  a  bird's  nest,  and  this  without  making  any  mark 
to  guide  him.  As  Gall,  at  a  later  period,  began  to  collect 
busts  in  plaster,  he  moulded  his  fellow-student  Scheidler, 
remarkable  for  his  excellent  local  memory,  and  distinguished 

21 


323 


PHRENOLOGY 


above  the  eyebrows,  on  either  side  of  the  mesial  line  of  the 
head,  a  protuberance  strongly  marked.  He  then  made  obser- 
vations on  every  person  endowed  with  a  similar  faculty.  He 
one  day  met  a  woman  in  Vienna,  who  had  the  protuberances 
corresponding  to  those  presented  by  Scheidler's  forehead,  so 
extremely  developed,  as  almost  to  amount  to  a  deformity ;  on 
speaking  to  her  he  learned  that  she  had  the  greatest  pro- 
pensity to  travel;  that  she  had  left  her  parents  at  Munich, 
solely  to  see  foreign  countries;  that  she  never  lived  long  in 
the  same  house,  because  she  liked  change  of  place ;  and  that 
her  greatest  pleasure  consisted  in  travelling. 

The  pictures  and  busts  of  great  astronomers,  navigators, 
and  geographers,  as  of  IN'ewton,  Cooke,  Columbus,  &;c.  present 
a  great  developement  in  the  situation  indicated.  (PL  XI, 
fig.  2.  XXVII.)  This  is  the  faculty  which  prompted  Colum- 
bus to  seek  a  new  continent,  and  which  makes  and  stimulates 
every  zealous  traveller.  Bloede,  of  Dresden,  speaks  of  one 
Augustus,  of  Schneeberg,  who  had  at  one  time  been  a  miner, 
and  who  with  a  kind  of  ridiculous  eagerness  which  prevents 
him  from  staying  longer  than  one  or  two  days  at  the  same 
place,  runs  every  year  over  the  greatest  part  of  Saxony, 
Lusatia,  and  Silesia;  he  has  a  fixed  station  for  every  day, 
like  migrating  birds,  and  brings  the  various  landlords,  who 
assist  him,  compliments  and  salutations  from  all  their 
friends;  heathen  gives  the  details  of  his  last  journey,  with 
the  greatest  volubility,  keeping  his  body  fixed,  and  his  eyes 
shut.  Bloede  assured  us,  that  this  odd  personage  has  really 
two  large  protuberances  in  the  situation  mentioned.  At 
Torgau,  in  Saxony,  we  saw  a  blind  man  in  whom  the  same 
part  was  much  developed,  and  who  told  us  that  he  liked  to 
hear  geography  and  travels  spoken  of,  and  that  he  had  often 
dreamed  of  foreign  countries.  Mr.  Holman,  the  blind  trav- 
eller, has  this  organ  very  large,  and  he  told  me  that  he  knows 
London  better  than  the  servant  who  accompanies  him,"  in 
order  to  avoid  carriages  and  unknown  obstacles.  In  going 
through  the  streets  of  a  town,  he  conceives  and  forms  in  his 
mind  a  geographical  plan  of  it.  The  seat  of  the  organ  of 
locality  has  been  proved  in  man  by  many  thousand  facts. 

Animals  must  also  be  endowed  with  it,  otherwise  they  could 


ORGAN  OF  LOCALITY 


323 


find  neither  their  progeny  nor  their  dwellings,  after  they 
had  been  obliged  to  leave  them  in  quest  of  food.  The  faculty 
indeed  is  very  active  in  certain  animals,  while  others  are 
almost  destitute  of  it.  This  dissimilarity  is  not  only  per- 
ceptible in  different  kinds,  but  also  in  different  individuals 
of  the  same  kind.  One  dog  loses  himself  almost  immediately 
after  going  out ;  another  finds  its  usual  abode  and  master  from 
an  enormous  distance.  There  was  a  dog  transported  in  a 
carriage  from  Vienna  to  Petersburg,  which  six  months  after- 
wards returned  to  Vienna.  Another  transported  from  Vienna 
to  London,  still  found  means  to  come  back,  by  attaching  him- 
self to  a  traveller  in  the  packet-boat,  and  going  with  him  to 
Mentz,  whence  he  set  off  by  himself  for  Vienna.  Another 
carried  from  Lyons  to  Marseilles,  and  shipped  to  l^aples, 
nevertheless,  came  back  to  Lyons  by  land.  Another  found 
his  former  master  in  Suabia,  after  having  left  his  new  master 
in  Hungary.  These,  and  many  other  similar  facts,  prove 
that  they  are  wrong  who  derive  such  a  power  from  the  sense 
of  smell ;  for  smell  could  aid  none  of  the  dogs  whose  history 
I  have  given.  Besides,  these  creatures  do  not  always  return 
by  the  nearest  way.  Moreover,  the  sense  of  smell  cannot  lead 
back  pigeons  to  their  cotes  from  which  they  had  been  trans- 
ported to  the  distance  of  twenty  leagues  and  more,  shut  up 
in  a  bag.  The  falcon  of  Iceland,  though  long  confined,  the 
first  time  it  is  floAvn  at  a  heron,  often  mounts  vertically  into 
the  air,  seems  to  distinguish  its  native  regions,  and  takes  the 
direction  of  the  north.  It  is  equally  impossible  to  maintain 
that  such  a  faculty  is  an  attribute  of  the  eyes,  because  there 
is  no  proportion  between  its  energy  and  the  excellence  of  vis- 
ion.  It  must  therefore  be  the  appanage  of  an  internal  organ. 

This  faculty  of  locality  being  innate  and  active  by  internal 
excitement,  explains  a  phenomenon  observed  among  animals, 
many  species  of  which,  chiefly  birds,  as  swallows,  storks, 
starlings,  quails,  nightingales,  and  others,  migrate  at  certain 
periods  of  the  year.  These  creatures  also  return,  not  only  to 
the  same  climate  and  to  the  same  country,  but  to  the  same 
spot,  to  the  same  window,  chimney,  or  tree.  The  migrations 
do  not  result  from  scarcity  of  food  alone,  for  though  it  is 
true  that  the  faculties  are  excited  by  external  wants,  and  that 


394 


PHRENOLOGY 


certain  birds  leave  one  country  in  quest  of  food  in  another, 
yet  the  faculties  must  exist  before  they  can  be  stimulated. 
Besides,  every  faculty  may  be  active  without  excitenmt  from 
external  want,  and  this  is  rendered  evident  by  the  circum- 
stance that  certain  birds  migrate  before  food  is  wanting,  and 
come  back  before  it  is  to  be  found.  Moreover,  if  migratory 
birds  be  confined  in  a  cage  and  fed  abundantly,  they  become 
unquiet  at  the  periods  of  their  flight.  Finally,  why  do  not 
all  birds  leave  their  ordinary  dwelling  when  food  is  scarce 
or  wanting  ?  These  considerations  show  the  necessity  of 
admitting  an  internal  and  innate  power  as  a  cause  of  all  the 
phenomena. 

The  special  faculty  of  its  organ  and  the  sphere  of  its 
activity  remain  to  be  determined.  It  makes  the  traveller, 
geographer,  and  landscape-painter,  recollect  localities,  and 
in  union  with  the  faculty  of  size,  gives  notions  of  perspec- 
tive, space  and  distances.  It  seems  to  me,  that  it  is  the 
faculty  of  locality  in  general.  As  soon  as  we  have  conceived 
the  existence  of  an  object  and  its  qualities,  it  must  necessarily 
occupy  a  place,  and  this  is  the  faculty  that  conceives  the 
places  occupied  by  the  objects  that  surround  us.  It  not  only 
procures  this  kind  of  knowledge,  but  it  is  also  fond  of  it; 
and  as  their  cause,  explains  all  the  phenomena  of  which  I 
have  spoken.  I^otions  of  localities  and  places  are  not  the 
same  as  those  of  size  or  dimensions ;  these  latter  concern  each 
individual  object,  while  the  former  implicate  the  various 
situations  wherein  individual  objects  are  placed  in  relation  to 
each  other. 

Dr.  Brown  ascribes  the  notions  of  distance  to  a  compound 
operation  of  touch  and  sight.  Gall  ascribed  the  coup  dfoeil  as 
to  space  and  the  capability  of  measuring  a  given  ground  to 
locality  alone ;  it  seems  to  me  the  joined  effect  of  locality  and 
size.  Locality,  size,  and  form,  are  essential  to  the  practical 
knowledge  of  Phrenology,  and  those  who  have  these  powers 
weak,  and  their  organs  small,  are  wrong  in  stating  their  own 
inability  as  an  objection  against  Phrenology.  The  modified 
application  of  the  special  faculties  may  induce  beginners  in 
Phrenology  to  doubt  of  their  reality,  if  they  do  not  find  in 


ORGAN  OF  ORDER 


325 


every  individual  who  shows  an  organ  larger  the  same  mani- 
festations of  the  mind.  Amongst  several  persons  who  have 
the  organ  of  locality  large,  one  may  pay  particular  attention 
to  local  situations  of  external  objects;  another  may  be  indif- 
ferent about  them  and  not  know  how  to  find  his  way  round 
his  abode,  but  may  be  delighted  in  seeing  cascades,  high 
mountains,  and  romantic  scenery ;  in  the  same  way  as  one  is 
gratified  with  noisy  songs,  and  another  is  pleased  only  with 
music  of  the  great  masters,  or  as  one  is  satisfied  to  live  upon 
potatoes  and  beef,  and  another  is  gratified  by  truffies  and 
game. 

Space  does  not  seem  to  me  a  mere  /orm  of  our  under- 
standing,  as  Kant  has  maintained.  It  is  true  the  conception 
of  space  cannot  be  attributed  to  any  of  the  five  senses,  but 
space  certainly  does  exist  in  the  external  world.  The  con- 
ception of  causality  or  necessary  consequence  also,  cannot 
be  attributed  to  the  five  external  senses ;  but  the  relations  and 
succession  of  phenomena  called  cause  and  effect,  exist  in 
nature.  The  same  truth  applies  to  all  the  categories  estab- 
lished by  Kant,  which  relate  to  external  objects;  internal 
faculties  constitute  them,  and  they  are  adapted  or  in  relation 
to  the  external  world;  in  other  words,  all  conceptions  of 
external  objects  are  results  of  internal  faculties  calculated 
by  creation  to  apply  to  the  external  world. 

XXVIIL    Organ  of  Order, 

The  idea  of  order  supposes  plurality,  but  this  may  exist 
without  order.  The  mind,  acquainted  with  external  objects, 
their  physical  qualities,  the  places  they  oecupy  and  their 
number,  may  still  consider  the  order  in  which  they  are  ranged 
with  regard  to  each  other.  There  are  individuals,  even  chil- 
dren, who  like  to  see  every  piece  of  furniture,  at  table  every 
dish,  and  in  their  business  every  article,  in  its  place,  and 
who  are  displeased  and  unhappy  when  things  are  in  disorder 
around  them.  The  Sauvage  de  I'Aveyron,  at  Paris,  though 
almost  a  perfect  idiot,  could  not  bear  to  see  a  chair  or  any 
other  article  out  of  its  place.  As  soon  as  any  thing  was  dis- 
arranged, he  went  of  his  own  accord  and  put  it  right.  This 


S26 


PHRENOLOGY 


disposition  to  arrange,  however,  differs  from  that  philosoph- 
ical method  which  results  from  consistency  of  ideas.  The 
faculty  of  which  I  speak  in  this  place,  gives  method  and 
order  to  objects  only  as  they  are  physically  related;  but 
philosophic  or  logical  inferences,  conceptions  of  system  or 
generalization,  and  ideas  of  classification  are  formed  by  the 
reflecting  faculties.  The  faculty  here  discussed  is  merely 
fond  of  putting  particulars  in  order  according  to  physical 
considerations :  as  in  a  library,  books  according  to  their  size 
and  form,  and  in  natural  history,  animals  according  to  their 
configurations.  In  general,  order  may  be  applied  to  form, 
size,  color,  things,  words,  &c.  Its  organ  is  situated  between 
those  of  coloring  and  calculation.  Cleanliness  or  tidiness 
appears  to  depend  on  it.  It  seems  also  that  it  produces  the 
pleasure  of  seeing  things  complete.  Order  is  impossible, 
while  the  subject  of  arrangement,  as  a  collection,  is  imperfect. 

XXIX.    Organ  of  Calculation. 

Some  individuals  remarkable  for  great  arithmetical  talent 
attracted  Gall's  attention.  Even  children  are  found  who 
excel  in  this  power.  There  was  a  child  seven  years  old,  called 
Devaux,  who  took  extreme  delight  in  running  about  the  fairs 
of  his  native  town,  and  making  calculations  for  the  mer- 
chants. A  boy  of  thirteen  years  of  age,  bom  at  St.  Poelten, 
not  far  from  Vienna,  surpassed  all  his  school  fellows  sur- 
prisingly at  figures.  He  learnt  with  ease  an  immense  quan- 
tity of  numbers  by  heart,  went  through  the  most  complicated 
arithmetical  problems  mentally,  and  very  soon  solved  them. 
Mr.  Mantelli,  a  counsellor  of  the  Court  of  Appeals  at 
Vienna,  took  a  particular  pleasure  in  solving  questions  in 
arithmetic;  and  his  son,  of  five  years  of  age,  did  little  but 
calculate  during  the  whole  day.  In  individuals  so  inclined 
and  endowed,  the  external  angle  of  the  eye-brow  is  either  much 
pressed  downwards  or  elevated.  (PI.  XII.  fig.  1.  XXIX.) 
This  configuration  results  from  a  greater  developement  of  the 
cerebral  part  situated  behind  the  outer  angle  of  the  orbit. 
The  portraits  and  busts  of  great  calculators,  as  of  ITewton, 
Euler,  Kaestner,  Jedidiah  Buxton,  Hutton,  &c.  present  this 


ORGAN  OF  CALCULATION 


337 


external  sign.  The  organ  is  established  by  an  immense 
number  of  observations. 

Certain  races  of  negroes  make  five  the  extent  of  their 
enumeration,  that  is,  they  count  only  as  far  as  five  by  simple 
terms;  all  their  numbers  after  five  are  compound,  whereas, 
ours  are  not  so  till  we  have  passed  the  number  ten ;  while  our 
terms,  six,  seven,  &c.,  are  simple,  they  say,  five-one,  five-two, 
five-three,  &c. — I^egroes  in  general  do  not  excel  in  arithmetic 
and  numbers.  Accordingly  their  heads  are  very  narrow  in 
the  seat  of  the  organ  of  number.  Individuals  among  them, 
however,  have  considerable  powers  of  computation,  and  the 
organ  larger  and  more  energetic  than  many  Europeans. 

I  am  not  certain  whether  this  faculty  exists  in  animals. 
Bitches  are  said  to  perceive  if  one  of  their  puppies  be  taken 
away;  but  this  does  not  prove  that  they  count  their  young 
ones:  they  may  perceive  by  the  faculties  of  individuality 
and  configuration  that  there  is  one  wanting.  George  Le  Roi 
has  observed,  that  magpies  count  three;  for  if  there  be  a 
hut  in  the  neighborhood  of  a  tree,  upon  which  a  magpie  has 
built  its  nest,  and  if  three  persons  enter  it,  the  magpie  will 
not  visit  its  nest  before  the  three  have  gone  away;  if,  how- 
ever, more  than  three  enter,  it  can  no  longer  keep  count,  or 
compare  the  number  of  those  who  went  in  with  that  of 
those  who  come  out.  Dupont  de  E'emours  thought  that 
magpies  could  count  nine. 

Whatever  concerns  unity  and  plurality — number,  belongs 
to  this  faculty.  Hence  its  end  is  calculation  in  general.  The 
recollection  of  numbers  of  houses,  or  of  pages  where  we  have 
read  interesting  passages,  depends  on  this  faculty.  Gall 
called  the  organ  of  the  power  under  consideration  the  organ 
of  mathematics;  but  I  think  it  only  calculates;  and  whilst 
arithmetic,  algebra,  and  logarithms  belong  to  it,  the  other 
branches  of  the  mathematics  and  geometry  are  not  products 
of  its  activity  alone,  but  of  its  union  with  size  and  locality. 
It  may  be  applied  to  size,  but  also  to  form,  color,  and  melody. 


328 


PHRENOLOGY 


XXX.    Organ  of  Eventuality. 

Gall  admits,  both  in  man  and  animals,  a  peculiar  organ 
of  educability,  or  of  the  memory  of  things  and  of  events. 
Individuals  are  met  with  every  day  who  have  a  general 
knowledge  of  the  arts  and  sciences,  and  who,  without  being 
profound,  know  enough  to  be  capable  of  speaking  on  them 
with  facility, — individuals  who  are  deemed  brilliant  or 
clever  in  society.  The  middle  part  of  their  foreheads,  Gall 
found  was  very  regularly  prominent.  (PL  X.  fig.  1.  XXX.) 
At  first,  he  called  the  cerebral  part  in  the  above  situation 
the  organ  of  the  memory  of  things,  because  those  largely 
endowed  with  it  were  commonly  well  informed,  and  knew  a 
great  deal;  he  afterwards  named  it  the  sense  of  things.  In 
comparing  animals  with  men,  and  one  kind  of  animal  with 
another,  he  found  that  tame  have  fuller  foreheads  than  wild 
animals,  and  that  animals  are  generally  tameable  as  the  fore- 
head is  more  largely  developed;  he  therefore  called  it  the 
organ  of  educability.  But  I  conceive  that  Gall  in  this  at- 
tributes to  a  single  faculty  manifestations  which  depend  on 
intellect  generally.  The  title  educability  is  evidently  bad, 
seeing  that  every  faculty  may  be  educated,  in  other  words, 
exercised  and  directed.  Moreover,  animals  and  men  vary 
their  actions  according  to  motives  given  by  the  whole  of  the 
faculties  whose  organs  lie  in  the  forehead,  and  also  according 
to  various  feelings. 

The  peculiar  cerebral  part,  which  I  have  already  indicated, 
is  largely  developed  in  children.  It  varies  in  size  among 
adults,  is  larger  in  boys  than  in  girls,  and  differs  in  magni- 
tude among  entire  nations.  Individuals  who  have  it  large 
are  attentive  to  all  that  happens  around  them,  to  phenomena 
or  events,  to  facts ;  they  are  fond  of  history,  of  anecdotes ; 
are  inquisitive,  and  desire  information  on  every  branch  of 
natural  knowledge. 

Moreover,  it  seems  to  me  that  this  faculty  recognises  the 
activity  of  every  other,  whether  external  or  internal,  and  acts 
in  its  turn  upon  all  of  them.  It  desires  to  know  every  thing 
by  experience,  and  consequently  excites  all  the  other  organs  to 


ORGAN  OF  TIME 


329 


activity;  it  would  hear,  see,  smell,  taste,  and  touch;  is  fond 
of  general  instruction,  and  inclines  to  the  pursuit  of  practical 
knowledge,  and  is  often  styled  good  sense  in  our  proceedings. 
It  is  essential  to  editors,  secretaries,  historians,  and  teachers. 
By  knowing  the  functions  of  the  other  powers,  this  faculty 
and  individuality  contribute  essentially  to  the  unity  of 
consciousness,  and  to  the  recognition  of  the  entity  myself 
in  philosophy.  Eventuality  seems  to  perceive  the  impres- 
sions which  are  the  immediate  functions  of  the  external 
senses,  to  change  these  into  notions,  conceptions,  or  ideas, 
and  to  be  essential  to  attention  in  general.  Its  sphere  of 
activity  is  very  great,  and  expressed  by  the  verbs  in  their 
infinitive  mood.  Every  philosophic  system  has  taken  account 
of  some  operations  of  this  faculty. 

XXXI.    Organ  of  Time. 

Conceptions  of  time  are  evidently  peculiar  in  their  nature ; 
they  may  exist  even  without  order  and  number.  Yesterday, 
to-day,  to-morrow,  the  day  after  to-morrow,  &c.  form  a  suc- 
cession, having  no  regard  to  the  number  of  days.  There 
is  more  connexion  between  time  and  order,  and  also  more 
between  order  and  number,  than  between  time  and  number. 

Order  relates  more  peculiarly  to  objects,  time  to  facts  or 
events.  The  conception  of  time  is  of  a  higher  character 
than  order  or  number.  Accordingly,  the  organ  of  time  occu- 
pies a  higher  place  in  the  brain  than  that  of  order,  which  is  in 
a  middle  situation,  or  of  number,  which  is  the  lowest  and 
most  external  of  the  three.  The  natural  language  of  time 
and  of  number  proves  indeed  that  the  organs  of  these  faculties 
occupy  different  places;  in  thinking  of  time  the  eyes  are 
turned  upwards,  and  in  calculating  they  are  cast  downwards 
and  outwards. 

The  faculty  of  time  conceives  the  duration  of  phenomena, 
their  simultaneousn,ess,  or  succession.  Its  application  to 
chronology  requires  the  assistance  of  number,  in  order  to 
recollect  the  dates.  It  is  one  of  the  essential  constituents 
of  music,  and  some  musicians  have  great  facility,  and  others 
great  difficulty,  to  play  in  time.    Its  organ  is  situated  be- 


330 


PHRENOLOGY 


tween  eventuality,  locality,  order,  melody,  and  causality,  and 
often  acts  in  their  connexion. 

According  to  Dr.  T.  Brown,  tbe  power  of  time  enters  in 
the  conception  of  extension. 

XXXII.    Organ  of  Tune. 

The  organ  of  tune  bears  to  the  ears  the  same  relation  as 
that  of  color  does  to  the  eyes.  The  ear  hears  sounds,  and  is 
agreeably  or  disagreeably  affected  by  them;  but  it  has  no 
recollection  of  tones,  and  does  not  judge  of  their  relations. 
It  does  not  perceive  harmonious  combinations  of  sounds,  but 
separate  tones  only;  and  sounds  as  well  as  colors  may  be 
separately  pleasing,  though  disagreeable  in  combination.  In 
treating  of  the  sense  of  hearing  I  have  already  demonstrated, 
that  music  has  not  originated  from  its  existence.  Besides 
the  proofs  there  adduced  that  the  ear  is  not  the  instrument 
of  musical  perception,  there  exists  direct  evidence  of  an 
internal  organ  being  necessary  to  this;  for  sometimes  in 
epileptic  fits  and  in  delirium,  individuals  do  not  hear,  but 
sing  with  great  precision,  and  then  this  organ  is  active,  while 
the  functions  of  all  the  others  are  suspended  or  deranged. 
A  greater  developement  of  the  organ  on  which  musical  per- 
ception depends  enlarges  the  lateral  parts  of  the  forehead, 
(PL  XII.  -fig.  2.  XXXII.)  but  its  form  varies  according  to 
the  direction  and  form  of  the  convolutions  composing  it.  In 
Gluck,  Haydn,  and  others,  it  had  a  pyramidal  form;  in 
Mozart,  Viotti,  Zumsteg,  Dussek,  Crescenti,  and  others,  the 
external  corners  of  the  forehead  were  only  enlarged  and 
rounded.  It  lies  higher  and  is  more  apparent  in  individuals 
whose  brains  are  narrow  at  the  basis,  whilst  its  appearance  is 
less  visible  in  those  who  have  the  cheek  bones  much  elevated. 
The  surest  indication  of  its  developement  is,  if  it  be  more 
prominent  than  the  external  angle  of  the  eye. 

The  heads  of  birds  which  sing,  of  those  which  do  not,  and 
of  the  individuals  of  the  same  kind  which  have  a  greater  or 
less  disposition  to  music,  differ  conspicuously  at  the  place  of 
this  organ.    The  heads  of  male  singing  birds  are  easily  dis- 


ORGAN  OF  TIME 


331 


tinguished  from  those  of  females  of  the  same  kind  by  the 
different  developement  of  the  organ  of  tune  in  each. 

There  is  a  striking  analogy  between  colors  and  tones  and 
their  respective  organs:  colors  being  perceived  by  the  eyes, 
and  sounds  by  the  ears;  there  being  primitive  colors  and 
primitive  tones ;  there  being  an  agreeable  succession  of  colors 
as  there  is  of  tones,  that  is,  there  being  colors  and  tones  which 
agree  with  one  another,  and  others  which  do  not ;  colors  must 
harmonize,  and  tones  must  be  concordant;  lastly,  the  con- 
cordance both  of  colors  and  of  tones  may  be  considered  by 
the  faculties  of  order  and  number.  In  this  manner,  indeed, 
colors  and  tones  are  calculated,  and  the  principles  of  painting 
and  music  established. 

Mr.  W.  Scott  has  published  in  the  Phrenological  Journal, 
vol.  ii.  two  essays  on  music,  and  the  different  faculties  which 
concur  in  producing  it.  One  of  his  propositions  is  singular, 
'  there  seems,'  says  he,  Ho  be  a  correspondence  in  all  cases 
between  the  voices  of  men  and  women  and  their  cerebral 
developement.'  I  know  the  most  positive  observations  to  the 
contrary.  Persons  with  small  heads  who  have  a  bass  voice. 
It  is  true  the  voice  is  modified  by  the  activity  of  the  feelings 
according  to  the  laws  of  the  natural  language,  since  all  move- 
ments of  the  soft  parts  are  concordant  among  themselves,  and 
indicate  the  nature  of  the  active  powers.  In  combativeness, 
for  instance,  there  is  muscular  contraction,  and  therefore  the 
voice  is  pitched  low  and  sharp;  but  generally  speaking,  the 
voice  is  neither  in  proportion  to  the  head  nor  to  the  develope- 
ment of  the  organ  of  tune,  it  is  modified  only  by  the  activity 
of  the  special  feelings. 

Mr.  W.  Scott  considers,  also,  imitation  as  necessary  to 
practical  musicians,  particularly  to  vocal  performers.  I 
think  this  proposition  too  general.  Imitation  invites  to 
imitate,  and  gives  the  power  to  do  so,  but  it  may  imitate  a 
good  or  a  bad  execution.  It  is,  however,  necessary  both  to 
the  composition  and  performance  of  dramatic  music ;  but  not 
to  musical  expression  in  general.  Every  dramatic  expression 
but  this  alone,  depends  on  it.  Music  is  composed  according 
to  the  combination  of  the  fundamental  powers  with  tune  and 


33^ 


PHRENOLOGY 


time,  and  the  different  compositions  will  be  well  executed  by 
performers  who  possess  combinations  of  powers  similar  to 
those  of  the  composers.  If  manual  dexterity  be  indispensable 
to  the  performance,  the  powers  which  give  it  are  additional 
requisites.  The  consideration  of  this  kind,  however,  belongs 
to  the  treatise  on  the  combinations  and  modifications  of  the 
special  powers,  whilst  this  volume  is  destined  to  the  examina- 
tion and  analysis  of  the  special  faculties  of  the  mind  and 
their  nature. 

XXXIII.    Organ  of  Arbitrary  Language. 

Dr.  Gall,  in  his  youth,  noticed  that  several  of  his  school- 
fellows learned  even  things  which  they  did  not  understand 
with  great  facility  by  heart,  whilst  he,  with  the  utmost  diffi- 
culty, engraved  in  his  memory  a  very  small  number  of 
words;  and  he  observed  that  all  the  boys  who  excelled  in 
verbal  memory  had  prominent  eyes. 

He  afterwards  spoke  of  an  organ  of  words,  the  great  degree 
of  whose  developement  is  denoted  by  prominent  eyes.  Some- 
times the  eyes  not  only  project  but  are  also  depressed,  and 
then  the  under  eye-lid  presents  a  sort  of  roll,  or  appears 
swollen.  {PI.  XIII.  fig.  2.  XXXIII.)  Those  who  have  such 
a  physiognomical  sign  are  fond  of  philology;  they  like  to 
study  the  spirit  of  languages.  Dr.  Gall  speaks  of  the  two 
configurations  as  the  signs  of  two  different  organs,  under  the 
titles,  organ  of  words,  and  organ  of  languages. 

It  is  quite  true  that  some  easily  learn  the  spirit  of  different 
languages  without  having  a  great  memory  for  words,  and  that 
others  readily  acquire  its  words  without  catching  the  spirit 
of  a  language ;  yet  it  seems  to  me,  that  the  memory  of  words 
and  philology  in  general,  depend  on  the  same  special  faculty. 
In  the  philosophical  part  of  Phrenology,  I  show  that  judg- 
ment and  memory  are  not  different  degrees  of  activity  of 
any  faculty,  but  general  modes  of  activity  of  several;  and 
that  each  may  exist  independent  of  the  other.  It  seems  also 
to  me,  that  the  organ  of  words  must  have  its  laws  as  well  as 
those  of  color,  of  melody,  or  any  other  faculty;  now  the  law 
of  words  constitutes  the  spirit  of  language.    I  am  satisfied 


ORGAN  OF  LANGUAGE 


333 


that  this  opinion  is  correct,  because  the  spirit  of  every  lan- 
guage is  the  same,  just  as  the  essence  of  all  kinds  of  music 
is  alike;  that  is,  the  laws  of  principles  of  music  and  of 
language  rule  universally,  and  are  constant;  they  are  only 
modified  in  different  nations  by  modifications  in  their  organs, 
and  dissimilar  combinations  of  these  in  each.  I,  therefore, 
admit  only  one  organ  of  language. 

Before  the  special  faculty  of  this  organ  can  be  understood, 
we  must  examine  the  question  so  often  treated  by  different 
authors ;  what  is  the  influence  of  signs  upon  ideas  ?  Accord- 
ing to  many  philosophers  and  to  common  opinion,  signs  may 
produce  ideas.  Accuracy  of  language  is  said  to  be  necessary 
to  accuracy  of  thought.  This,  however,  is  to  christen  the 
child  before  it  is  born.  I  think  with  St.  Martin,  that  it  is 
more  reasonable  to  put  the  question  in  an  opposite  way :  what 
is  the  influence  of  ideas  upon  signs  ? — ^though  the  Institute 
of  France  gave  its  prize  to  him  who  developed  the  influence 
of  signs  upon  ideas.  In  speaking  of  the  influence  of  signs 
upon  ideas  or  the  contrary,  the  question  ought  to  be  more 
distinctly  stated,  and  it  should  be  asked,  whether  artificial 
signs  can  'produce  ideas?  ITow,  I  am  convinced  that  no 
arbitrary  sign  can  produce  any  idea ;  I  am  satisfied  that  ideas 
precede,  and  that  arbitrary  signs  follow;  that  without  ideas 
there  would  be  no  arbitrary  sign;  and  that  without  having 
first  had  the  idea,  its  arbitrary  sign  is  without  meaning. 
We  have  an  evident  proof  of  this  in  persons  blind  from  birth. 
The  words  red,  green,  blue,  white,  give  them  no  conception 
of  color. 

Here  I  must  explain  what  is  meant  by  an  idea.  Some 
philosophers,  after  the  etymology  of  the  word,  call  every 
sensation  which  presents  an  image,  idea.  In  this  sense, 
however,  there  are  very  few  ideas ;  even  the  sensations  of  the 
external  senses  would  not  all  deserve  the  name;  for  savors, 
odors,  tones,  and  colors,  do  not  present  any  image.  Other 
philosophers  style  sensations  produced  by  means  of  the  ex- 
ternal senses,  ideas.  Others  again  understand  by  the  ex- 
pression, every  sensation  produced  by  activity,  both  of  the 
external  and  internal  senses.    Moreover,  ideas  are  spoken  of 


334 


PHRENOLOGY 


as  of  two  kinds,  simple  and  'iompound;  the  first  being  ac- 
quired by  the  external  senses,  the  second  being  the  result  of 
reflection — abstract  and  general  ideas.  I  propose  to  confine 
the  term  idea  to  the  conceptions  of  the  perceptive  faculties, 
and  to  call  the  functions  of  the  reflective  faculties  reflection. 
The  organic  apparatus  of  all  the  internal  faculties  may  be 
active,  and  a  being  may  consequently  have  an  inclination,  a 
sentiment,  an  idea,  or  reflection,  without  manifesting  it  by 
any  sign  whatever.  Man  and  animals,  however,  are  destined 
for  society;  it  is  consequently  necessary  that  they  should 
communicate  and  understand  their  sensations,  ideas  and 
reflections,  and  this  communication  can  take  place  only  by 
means  of  signs. 

These  signs  are  either  natural,  or  arbitrary  and  artificial. 
ISTatural  signs  conform  universally  to  every  faculty.  Every 
being  endowed  with  a  given  faculty  manifests  its  activity 
essentially  in  the  same  manner,  and  understands  its  natural 
manifestations  in  others;  whilst  beings  endowed  with  differ- 
ent faculties  can  neither  communicate  their  own  sensations 
so  as  to  be  understood,  nor  understand  those  expressed  by 
others.  This  law  is  common  to  man  and  animals.  Animals 
which  have  certain  faculties  in  common  with  man,  understand 
their  natural  manifestations  in  the  human  kind.  The  dog, 
for  instance,  understands  signs  of  anger  in  his  master  per- 
fectly, because  possessed  of  the  faculty  which  produces  anger ; 
but  he  will  never  understand  the  natural  signs  of  adoration. 
From  this  it  must  be  evident  that  individuals  of  the  same 
kind  understand  the  natural  signs  of  peculiar  faculties  better, 
if  the  faculties  which  speak  in  others  are  of  equal  strength  in 
themselves.  The  natural  language  is  also  known  under  the 
name  of  pathognomy,  and  deserves  to  be  treated  of  separately. 

The  second  sort  of  signs  are  arbitrary  and  artificial. 
iJ^atural  language,  I  have  said,  is  common  to  animals  and 
man ;  artificial  language  is  a  prerogative  of  the  human  kind, 
and  is  a  result  of  certain  superior  intellectual  faculties,  which 
contrive  means  of  gratifying  all  the  others.  To  communicate 
his  sensations  and  ideas,  man  generally  uses  the  artificial 
rather  than  the  natural  language,  though  this  last  regularly 


ORGAN  OF  LANGUAGE 


335 


and  involuntarily  accompanies  the  first.  As  natural  language 
is  principally  expressed  by  the  voice  and  various  motions,  so 
the  same  means  are  the  readiest  and  most  natural  for  produc- 
ing artificial  signs ;  but  if  the  voice  do  not  serve,  as  in  address- 
ing the  deaf  or  persons  at  a  distance,  we  then  recur  to  gestures 
and  to  written  signs.  How  absolutely  artificial  vocal  signs 
are  without  meaning  in  themselves,  is  evident  from  untutored 
man's  universal  ignorance  of  any  other  than  his  mother 
tongue.  If,  moreover,  we  would  communicate  certain  sensa- 
tions or  ideas  to  an  individual  only,  we  must  choose  arbitrary 
and  secret  signs — signs  which  he  alone  understands.  Hence, 
it  is  certain  that  artificial  signs  do  not  by  themselves  produce 
any  idea. 

The  superior  intellectual  faculties  form  the  conception  of 
producing  artificial  signs  for  mental  acts  generally;  and, 
therefore,  sensations,  ideas,  and  reflections,  must  exist,  before 
there  can  be  arbitrary  signs  invented  to  indicate  them.  It 
follows,  moreover,  that  signs  must  be  multiplied  and  modified 
according  to  the  sensations  and  conceptions  of  the  mind; 
hence  there  are  as  many  sorts  of  signs  as  of  faculties.  There 
are  words  or  signs  to  indicate  individual  objects, — nouns. 
Others  to  denote  the  qualities  of  substantives, — adjectives, 
which  in  certain  languages  agree  with  the  substantives ;  and 
which  are  also  susceptible  of  different  degrees.  As  there  are 
different  sexes  among  living  beings,  the  signs  admit  of 
genders.  The  number  of  objects  is  also  considered;  some- 
times number  alone,  sometimes  number  combined  with  order, 
and  sometimes  with  order  and  time ;  one,  two,  three,  &c. ; 
or  first,  second,  third,  &c. ;  or  first  time,  second  time,  third 
time,  &c.  There  are  other  words  again  which  may  be  used 
instead  of  substantives, — pronouns ;  and  these  are  either  per- 
sonal, possessive,  demonstrative,  or  relative.  Other  signs, — 
verbs,  denote  the  state  of  the  subject  spoken  of,  whether  a 
person  or  thing,  and  this  state  may  be  active,  passive,  or 
neuter;  it  may  be  affirmed  or  denied  by  certain  terms  in  a 
positive  (indicative)  ;  conditional  (conjunctive  or  subjunc- 
tive) ;  or  imperative  manner ;  it  may,  moreover,  be  considered 
in  relation  to  time,  whether  present,  past,  or  future.  Other 


336 


PHRENOLOGY 


signs  explain  the  verbs, — adverbs,  many  of  which  being 
analogous  to  those  indicating  qualities  of  substantives,  denote 
places,  times,  numbers,  quantities,  &c.  There  are  also 
particles  which  indicate  different  operations  of  the  mind: 
some  causes,  some  connexion  or  conjunction;  others,  condi- 
tion ;  and  others  again,  time,  order,  sudden  mental  emotions, 
— (interjections).  There  are  artificial  signs  then  for  every 
operation  of  the  mind,  and  if  all  signs  may  be  reduced, 
etymologically  considered,  to  nouns  and  verbs,  their  signifi- 
cations are  still  different  and  their  terminations  are  therefore 
changed. 

'Now  there  is  a  particular  faculty  whose  office  it  is  to 
learn  signs,  which  are,  as  we  have  seen,  produced  in  con- 
formity with  the  activity  of  all  others,  by  superior  intellectual 
faculties.  It  differs  from  those  which  produce  artificial 
signs,  and  also  from  those  which  produce  the  sensations  and 
ideas  these  are  assumed  to  express.  There  is,  indeed,  no 
proportion  between  these  different  kinds  of  faculties.  Among 
mankind,  some  excel  in  one  of  them  and  not  in  the  other.  It 
is  very  possible  to  have  many  ideas  without  great  powers  of 
learning  the  arbitrary  signs  which  express  them;  and  also 
to  know  many  words  without  having  many  ideas.  By  this 
faculty  of  arbitrary  language  then,  we  perceive  the  connexion 
of  audible  and  visible  signs  with  things  signified. 

To  converse  however  by  means  of  audible  signs,  besides  the 
inclinations,  sentiments,  ideas  or  reflections,  and  the  words 
or  vocal  signs  invented  to  express  them,  we  must  possess  the 
organs  of  voice  and  the  sense  of  hearing.  I  have  already 
said,  that  arbitrary  language  is  more  necessary  to  the  mani- 
festations of  the  intellectual  faculties  than  of  the  propensities 
and  sentiments.  The  organ  of  language  accordingly  occupies 
a  transverse  situation  in  the  midst  of  the  perceptive  faculties. 

This,  like  all  other  organs,  seems  composed  of  different 
parts.  Some  persons  are  apt  to  forget  proper  names,  while 
they  recollect  words  denoting  qualities  of  external  bodies. 
Disease  or  accident  has  entailed  this  peculiarity  in  several 
instances.  One  Lereard,  of  Marseilles,  having  received  a 
blow  from  a  foil  on  the  eye-brow,  lost  the  memory  of  proper 


ORGAN  OF  LANGUAGE 


337 


names  entirely ;  he  sometimes  forgot  the  names  of  his  intimate 
friends,  and  even  of  his  father,  as  he  stated  in  a  letter  written 
to  Gall,  for  advice.  Cnvier,  in  his  Historical  Eulogium  on 
Bronsonnet,  delivered  in  the  Institute  of  France,  in  1808, 
relates  that  this  famous  botanist  after  an  apoplectic  fit,  could 
never  recollect  either  proper  names  or  substantives,  though  he 
recovered  his  prodigious  memory  of  other  matters.  He  knew 
the  forms,  leaves,  and  color  of  plants,  and  recollected  their 
epithets,  but  could  not  recall  their  names. 

Gall  thinks  that  in  consequence  of  being  destitute  of  this 
faculty,  monkeys,  ourang-outangs,  and  other  animals,  want 
the  power  of  speech.  It  seems  to  me,  however,  that  animals 
have  it  in  some  degree;  for  they  learn  to  repeat  arbitrary 
signs,  and  understand  them  as  far  as  they  have  the  sensations 
exj)ressed;  and  I  am  of  opinion  that  animals  want  speech 
for  the  same  reason  that  they  have  no  clothes,  make  no  fire, 
and  do  not  produce  food.  It  is  certain  that  deficiency  in 
vocal  organs  is  not  the  cause  of  animals  having  no  artificial 
language ;  for  some  of  them  pronounce  words,  even  sentences, 
nay,  and  understand  what  they  say,  but  yet  produce  no 
artificial  sign  whatever. 

Half  idiot  children  there  are  who  never  speak,  though  they 
do  many  things  like  reasonable  persons;  and  then  parents, 
relations,  and  even  physicians,  cannot  conceive  their  partial 
imbecility.  IvTow,  though  such  children  be  not  deaf,  though 
they  pronounce  various  words,  yet  they  never  go  on  to  speak, 
and  the  cause  of  this  is  often  looked  for  in  the  organs  con- 
nected with  the  production  of  voice,  the  tongue,  amygdaloid 
glands,  palate,  &c. ;  but  the  state  of  these  parts  is  never  the 
reason  of  the  want  of  language.  The  organs  of  voice,  it  is 
true,  produce  sounds,  but  they  do  not  originate  or  cause  vocal 
language:  persons  deprived  of  several,  as  of  the  tongue,  the 
palate,  have  yet  continued  to  speak.*  Their  pronunciation 
of  course  was  not  so  distinct  as  that  of  other  persons,  but  they 

*  Bartholin  speaks  of  this  in  a  boy  who  lost  his  tongue  by  suppura- 
tion from  small  pox:  Huxham  saw  the  same  in  a  girl:  Schenk,  Tulpius, 
Richter,  &c.  speak  of  similar  facts.    There  is  also  a  dissertation  by 
Aurran,  De  Feminse  Elinguis  Loquela.    Argentor.  1766. 
22 


338 


PHRENOLOGY 


felt  the  necessity  of  communicating  their  sensations  and  ideas, 
and  therefore  contrived  to  speak.  On  the  contrary,'  these 
half  idiots  pronounce  single  words  very  well,  but  cannot  kept 
up  a  conversation,  nor  fix  their  attention,  nor  combine  their 
expressions.  They  are  consequently  destitute  of  the  power 
of  learning,  as  well  as  of  the  intellectual  faculty  of  inventing 
arbitrary  signs. 

There  are  two  occasional  causes  of  such  partial  imbecility, 
a  slight  hydrocephalus,  distending  the  brain  and  pushing  the 
eyes  forward  precisely  as  a  very  considerable  developement  of 
the  cerebral  parts  behind  the  orbits  does.  These  children 
may  therefore  present  the  external  mark  which  in  a  healthy 
state  of  the  brain  denotes  great  strength  of  the  faculty  of 
arbitrary  language.  This  circumstance,  however,  does  not 
prove  the  impossibility  of  discovering  the  state  of  the  organ 
on  which  it  depends,  as  certain  adversaries  of  Phrenology 
have  maintained :  it  presents  only  a  difficulty  which  must  be 
removed.  The  state  of  the  organization  generally  must  guide 
our  judgment.  The  second  cause  of  this  partial  imbecility  is 
some  real  defect  of  organization:  the  cerebral  part,  whose 
function  is  arbitrary  language,  may  be  either  wanting  or 
very  slightly  developed,  and  then  individuals  so  constituted 
never  speak.  Their  eyes,  instead  of  projecting,  lie  deeply 
sunk  in  the  orbits,  the  roofs  of  which,  instead  of  being  plane, 
are  quite  concave.* 

I  therefore  admit  only  one  organ  of  language,  which  pro^ 
duces  similar  phenomena  in  regard  to  language  or  arbitrary 
signs,  as  the  other  intellectual  faculties  do  in  regard  to 
external  impressions.  It  makes  us  acquainted  with  arbitrary 
signs,  remembers  them,  judges  of  their  relations,  and  gives  a 
disposition  to  indulge  in  all  exercises  connected  with  words. 

*  What  is  to  be  done  with  such  children?  Those  affected  in  the  first 
way  ought  to  be  sedulously  strengthened  by  a  good  physical  education, 
and  by  avoiding  too  incessant  exercise  of  their  feelings  and  intellectual 
faculties.  The  fibres  of  the  brain  with  age  occasionally  become  stronger, 
and  resist  the  pressure  of  the  water  accumulated  in  its  cavities.  Too 
early  instruction  is  under  all  circumstances  hurtful,  but  it  is  especially 
so  to  these  children.  The  disease  springing  from  the  second  cause,  or 
deficiency  of  organization,  is  of  course  irremediable. 


ORGAN  OF  COMPARISON 


339 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Reflective  Faculties, 

The  intellectual  faculties,  hitherto  considered,  give  knowl- 
edge of  objects,  their  physical  qualities  and  relations.  I  now 
come  to  those  which  reflect  on  all  the  others,  affective  as  well 
as  intellectual,  and  constitute  what  is  called  reason,  or 
reflection. 

A  wide  range  of  sciences  falls  under  the  scope  of  indi- 
viduality, eventuality,  and  the  perceptive  faculties  in  general, 
such  as  all  branches  of  natural  history,  anatomy,  chemistry, 
and  all  sciences  the  substance  of  which  consists  in  a  knowl- 
edge of  the  existence,  appearances,  and  properties  of  natural 
objects.  Farther,  the  details  of  history,  statistics,  geography 
and  trade,  all  belong  to  the  department  of  simple  knowledge. 
The  knowing  powers,  with  an  active  constitution,  and  some 
propelling  feelings,  as  love  of  approbation,  acquisitiveness, 
and  others,  are  sufficient  to  explain  the  eminence  of  some 
professors  in  those  branches  of  knowledge,  without  great 
reasoning  powers.  But  then  such  persons  are  never  distin- 
guished by  profound  and  comprehensive  views  of  abstract 
principles.    These  are  conceived  by  the  reflective  faculties. 

XXXIV.    Organ  of  Comparison,  and  General  Harmony. 

The  greater  number  of  persons  are  satisfied  with  individual 
knowledge,  and  the  principal  charm  of  popular  speakers 
consists  in  a  clear  statement  of  facts,  and  copiousness  of 
illustrations.  Close  reasoning  and  rigid  induction  is  always 
disagreeable  to  the  public,  because  the  reasoning  powers  are 
less  developed,  and  less  exercised.  Phrenology  alone  explains 
why  reason  is  so  rare.  Many  persons,  however,  are  delighted 
with  comparisons.  It  is  a  rule  in  teaching  to  proceed  from 
known,  to  unknown  ideas,  and  to  establish  analogies. 

Gall  often  conversed  on  philosophical  matters  with  a  friend 
of  his  who  possessed  much  vivacity  of  mind:  whenever  the 
latter  was  put  to  difficulty  in  proving  rigorously  his  positions. 


340 


PHRENOLOGY 


he  had  always  recourse  to  a  comparison.  By  this  means  he 
painted  his  ideas,  and  his  opponents  were  defeated,  and 
carried  along  with  him. 

Gall,  perceiving  this  characteristic  trait  of  mind,  examined 
his  head  and  found  an  eminence,  of  the  form  of  a  reversed 
pyramid,  in  the  upper  and  middle  portion  of  the  forehead. 
(PL  XIV,  fig.  1.  XXXIV.)  He  confirmed  this  observation 
in  many  subsequent  instances.  He  possessed  the  skulls  of 
two  Jesuits,  who  had  this  faculty  and  its  organ  in  a  high 
degree.  He  names  it  perspicacity,  sagacite  comparative, 
esprit  de  comparaison. 

This  organ  is  developed  in  all  popular  preachers,  who  very 
regularly  speak  by  parables,  and  choose  their  similitudes  from 
facts  generally  known.  To  succeed  in  persuading  a  popular 
audience  an  orator  must  always  speak  in  examples  and  by 
analogy;  he  must  bring  spiritual  things  near  to  terrestrial 
objects,  by  comparing  them  with  each  other,  and  imitate  the 
manner  of  preaching  of  Jesus,  who  very  frequently  spoke 
in  parables. 

This  faculty  attaches  us  to  comparison,  without  determin- 
ing its  kinds;  for  every  one  chooses  his  analogies  from  his 
knowledge,  or  from  the  sphere  of  activity  of  his  other  facul- 
ties. He  who  has  the  organ  of  locality  in  a  high  degree 
derives  thence  his  examples,  another  from  forms,  astronomy, 
mechanics,  &c. 

The  operations  of  tliis  faculty  are  often  called  reasoning, 
but  it  is  very  different  from  the  inductive  reasoning  of  sound 
logic.  It  proves  by  analogy  and  is  prone  to  convert  an 
illustration  into  an  argument. 

Those  who  possess  this  faculty  in  a  higher  degree,  feel 
differences  and  analogies  which  escape  others,  in  whom  it  is 
smaller  though  very  active. 

This  faculty  compares  the  sensations  and  notions  excited 
by  all  the  other  faculties,  points  out  their  similitudes, 
analogies,  differences,  or  identity,  comprehends  their  rela- 
tions, harmony,  or  discord.  Its  tendency  and  activity  are 
perceived  in  language  which  abounds  in  figurative  expres- 
sions, viz.  the  external  sensations  are  compared  with  the 


ORGAN  OF  COMPARISON 


341 


internal,  and  the  same  vocal  signs  are  used  to  express  both 
kinds  of  functions. 

Comparison  is  the  origin  of  proverbs,  which  convey  instruc- 
tion under  figurative  expressions. 

The  Scotch  phrenologists  were  for  some  time  disposed  to 
confine  the  power  of  comparison,  to  the  perception  of  anal- 
ogies and  resemblances ;  and  to  ascribe,  with  William  Scott, 
the  perception  of  differences,  to  wit  or  mirthfulness,  as 
already  mentioned  above  when  I  treated  of  that  feeling.  In 
my  opinion  this  faculty  perceives  the  differences  as  well  as 
resemblances,  analogies,  and  identities.  The  faculty  of  tune 
perceives  the  discord,  and  the  harmony  of  tones,  and  coloring 
perceives  disagreeable  and  agreeable,  or  incongruous  and 
congruous  impressions  of  colors.  In  the  same  way,  I  at- 
tribute to  comparison,  the  perception  of  differences  and 
analogies,  and  as  a  higher  degree  of  musical  talent  distin- 
guishes the  slightest  differences  of  tones,  so  a  greater  de- 
velopement  of  comparison  seems  necessary  to  feel  the  nicer 
differences  in  arguments,  and  constantly  to  discriminate  in 
philosophical  reasoning. 

The  great  aim  of  this  faculty  seems  to  be  to  form  abstract 
ideas,  generalizations,  and  to  establish  harmony  among  the 
operations  of  the  other  faculties.  Coloring  compares  colors 
with  each  other,  and  feels  their  harmony;  but  comparison 
adapts  the  colors  to  the  object  which  is  represented;  it  will 
reject  lively  colors,  to  present  a  gloomy  scene.  The  laws  of 
music  are  particular,  and  tune  compares  tones ;  but  compari- 
son chooses  the  music  according  to  the  situations  where  it  is 
executed.  It  blames  dancing  music  in  a  church,  it  is  op- 
posed to  walking  with  fine  clothes  in  the  dirt,  to  superb 
furniture  aside  common  things,  it  feels  the  relation  between 
the  inferior  and  superior  feelings,  and  gives  the  preference  to 
the  latter. 

Its  influence,  however,  presupposes  the  activity  of  the  other 
faculties,  and  it  cannot  act  upon  them  if  they  are  inactive. 
This  explains  why  some  persons  have  taste  and  good  judg- 
ment in  one  respect  and  not  in  another.  He  who  is  deprived 
of  reverence,  may  not  be  careful  enough  about  its  application. 


PHRENOLOGY 


He  may  deride  what  others  respect.  But  if  another  possess 
it  in  a  high  degree,  and  at  the  same  time  comparison,  he  will 
wish  to  bring  his  reverence  in  harmony  with  his  other  powers. 

Mr.  Combe,  in  his  System  of  Phrenology,  p.  47 0,  mentions 
a  new  view,  suggested  by  Mr.  H.  Watson.  I  am  delighted 
to  know  that  this  gentleman  is  engaged  in  the  pursuit  of 
Phrenology ;  he  is  destined  to  render  great  service  to  its  cause, 
but  my  comparison  makes  me  differ  from  him  as  to  the 
essential  function  of  this  faculty.  He  conceives,  that  its 
simple  function  probably  is  a  perception  of  conditions,  and 
he  proposes  the  term  conditionality  as  the  name.  I  copy  a 
few  illustrations. 

'  When  we  utter  the  word  man,  we  address  individuality 
alone,  we  speak  of  a  being  which  exists,  without  specifying 
his  form,  size,  color,  or  weight,  without  mentioning  his 
actions,  and  without  intimating  his  condition.  When  we  say, 
the  man  walks,  we  add  a  new  idea,  that  of  walking.  In  this 
proposition  we  call  in  the  aid  of  eventuality,  which  perceives 
action  or  events.  If  we  say,  the  tall  man  walks,  we  address 
size,  individuality,  and  eventuality;  or  if  we  say,  the  black 
man  rides,  then  color,  individuality,  and  eventuality  com- 
bine in  uttering  and  in  understanding  the  proposition;  but 
suppose  that  we  are  told,  that  the  miserable  man  runs  along 
the  road,  here  we  have  first,  the  man ;  second,  his  condition, 
miserable ;  third,  his  action,  running ;  now  what  organ  takes 
cognizance  of  his  condition.'  Before  I  answer  I  copy  another 
'  example ;  ^  suppose  that  we  are  told,  that  Mr.  A.  and  Miss  B. 
were  married  last  week,  at  the  altar  of  their  parish  church. 
Individuality  takes  cognizance  of  Mr.  A.  and  Miss  B.  as  indi- 
viduals, and  of  the  altar  and  church,  as  things  which  exist; 
locality  will  inform  us  of  the  place  of  the  marriage,  and 
time  of  the  date  of  it,  but  in  all  this  nothing  is  said  of  the 
condition  of  the  parties,  their  married  state.' 

In  my  opinion,  the  cognizance  of  these  different  conditions 
is  tested  by  eventuality.  This  faculty  not  only  shows  the 
active,  but  also  the  passive  and  neutral  verbs.  It  perceives  a 
man  walking,  but  also  a  man  being  carried,  a  man  asleep, 
two  persons  being  married.    To  be  youngs  or  old,  good,  just, 


ORGAN  OF  CAUSALITY 


343 


or  the  contrary,  are  physical  or  moral  events,  which  are 
made  known  to  eventuality.  Hence  there  is  no  necessity  of 
a  new  organ  of  conditionality. 

XXXV.    Organ  of  Causality. 

Gall  observed  that  those  who  were  attached  to  the  study 
of  metaphysics,  presented  such  a  hemispherical  developement 
of  the  superior  part  of  the  forehead,  as  is  seen  in 
Mendelssohn,  Kant,  (PZ.  Z/7.  fig,  2.  XZZ7.)  Fichte, 
Locke,  and  others. 

It  is  remarkable  that  the  ancient  artists  should  always  have 
given  to  their  busts  of  philosophers  a  large  forehead,  and 
represented  Jupiter  Capitolinus  with  a  forehead  in  the 
middle  part  more  prominent  than  is  ever  seen  in  nature; 
they  seem  to  have  observed  that  developement  of  the  forehead 
has  a  relation  to  great  understanding.  It  is  farther  remark- 
able, that  this  larger  developement  does  not  extend  to  the 
lateral  upper  portion  of  the  forehead.  The  organ  of  mirth- 
fulness,  which  the  Edinburgh  phrenologists  are  inclined  to 
consider  as  that  of  perceiving  differences,  is  small  in  the  busts 
of  Demosthenes,  Cicero,  and  other  great  men;  it  is  particu- 
larly defective  in  Jupiter.  In  this  respect,  therefore,  the 
observations  of  the  ancient  artists  coincide  with  mine,  to 
prove  that  the  organ  of  mirthfulness  is  not  necessary  to  a 
philosophical  mind. 

Gall  ascribes  to  the  hemispherical  configuration  of  the 
upper  part  of  the  forehead  the  love  of  metaphysics,  or  pro- 
found reasoning.  To  this  I  must,  however,  object,  first,  that 
in  the  configuration  described,  both  the  middle  and  lateral 
parts  of  the  front  cerebral  lobes  are  involved;  and  that  the 
special  faculty  of  both  is  not  the  same.  It  happens  indeed 
that  sometimes  the  middle,  sometimes  the  lateral  parts  are 
most  developed.  Moreover,  the  name  metaphysics  does  not 
designate  a  special  power  of  the  mind.  And  I  therefore  ask, 
what  is  the  special  faculty  of  the  lateral  parts  ?  Let  us 
examine  the  most  active  faculty  in  metaphysicians.  Their 
object  is  to  investigate  the  nature  of  all  things,  even  the 
nature  of  God,  and  of  the  immortal  soul.    Though,  with 


PHRENOLOGY 


Kant  and  others,  I  think  that  it  is  impossible  bj  reasoning  to 
penetrate  these  subjects,  it  may  still  be  asked,  what  faculty 
endeavors  to  do  so  ?  Metaphysicians,  in  their  attempts  to 
explain  phenomena,  necessarily  examine  the  relations  between 
cause  and  effect.  Philosophers  in  their  explanations  of 
natural  phenomena  by  reasoning,  always  suppose  or  admit 
some  cause,  and  then  develope  their  subject  by  mental  induc- 
tion according  to  it.  It  seems  to  me,  therefore,  that  the 
special  faculty  of  the  cerebral  parts  on  either  side  of  com- 
parison, examines  causes,  considers  the  relations  between 
cause  and  effect,  and  prompts  men  to  ask,  Why  ? 

The  effects  of  causality  are  immense:  the  cultivation  of 
fields,  plantation  of  trees,  all  the  artificial  enjoyments  of 
the  external  and  internal  senses,  the  invention  of  instruments 
of  all  kinds,  in  short  all  which  man  produces  by  art,  depends 
on  this  faculty.  It  is  the  fountain  of  resources.  It  knows 
the  conditions  under  which  events  happen,  brings  these  to 
bear,  and  produces  effects;  for  man  cannot  create,  he  can 
only  imitate  nature;  he  cannot  attain  final  causes,  which 
nevertheless  must  exist;  all  he  can  know  is  the  succession  of 
phenomena,  and  if  one  uniformly  succeed  another,  the  pre- 
ceding is  considered  as  the  cause  and  the  succeeding  as  the 
effect. 

This  succession  of  events  may  take  place  without  being 
perceived.  To  this  end  a  special  faculty  is  given  to  man. 
Animals  do  many  things  instinctively  according  to  laws,  but 
they  do  not  know  them  or  their  cause;  whilst  man  by  this 
power,  has  the  irresistible  conviction  that  every  phenomenon 
of  nature  has  its  cause,  and  is  led  by  sucessive  steps  to  the 
first  cause.  Farther,  in  considering  the  actions  of  man,  we 
must  admit  motives  or  moving  causes  from  which  they 
proceed.  The  law  of  causation  cannot  be  too  much  recom- 
mended and  attended  to. 

The  application  of  this  faculty  to  metaphysics  appears  to 
me  an  abuse,  since  that  study  is  beyond  the  reach  of  human 
nature  and  capacities.  In  consequence,  investigations  of  that 
kind  have  retarded  the  progress  of  true,  practical,  and  useful 
knowledge. 


GENERAL  REFLECTIONS 


345 


Comparison  and  causality  combined  constitute  reason, 
which  has  its  laws,  and  depends  on  the  activity  of  the  other 
faculties.  Without  causality,  no  argumentative  reasoning; 
without  great  comparison,  no  comprehensive  views,  and  no 
nice  distinction.  If  a  person  with  small  reflective  faculties 
write  a  book,  he  may  shine  in  narratives,  provided  indi- 
viduality, eventuality  and  language,  be  amply  developed,  but 
when  he  endeavors  to  reason,  he  will  be  feeble  and  confused. 
Eeason,  however,  or  the  reflective  faculties,  are  no  sure  guide 
for  themselves  alone,  though  they  are  the  most  important 
powers  of  the  mind.  They  themselves  decide,  but  the  object 
to  be  judged  must  be  furnished.  In  intellect,  sound  judg- 
ment requires  strong  reflective  faculties  and  sound  knowledge, 
and  to  judge  soundly  of  the  feelings,  as  of  the  moral  and 
religious  nature  of  man,  great  reflective  faculties  and  the 
activity  of  the  special  feelings  are  necessary.  Reason  de- 
termines the  relations  and  right  employment  of  the  feelings, 
but  does  not  produce  them. 

Thus  the  faculty  of  individuality  makes  us  acquainted  with 
objects,  that  of  eventuality  with  events;  comparison  points 
out  their  identity,  analogy,  or  difference,  and  finds  out  their 
harmony;  finally,  causality  desires  to  know  the  causes  of  all 
occurrences.  Consequently  these  faculties  together,  pointing 
out  general  principles  and  laws,  and  drawing  conclusions, 
inductions,  or  corollaries,  constitute  the  truly  philosophic 
understanding. 

General  Reflections  on  the  Perceptive  or  Knowing  Faculties. 

The  conception  of  organs  for  the  perceptive  powers  and 
their  subdivision  is  mine.  Gall,  neither  admitted  the  divi- 
sion of  the  mental  powers  into  feelings  and  intellect,  nor  their 
subdivisions.  He  treated  of  an  organ  of  educability,  or  the 
memory  of  facts ;  of  another  for  the  recollection  of  persons ; 
of  the  special  organs  of  colors,  localities,  numbers,  and  music ; 
and  of  two  more,  one  for  learning  languages,  and  another  for 
their  spirit ;  whilst  I  speak,  first  of  faculties  which  perceive 
the  existence  and  physical  qualities  of  external  objects,  and 
then  of  those  which  procure  notions  of  relations.    To  the 


346 


PHRENOLOGY 


former  belong  individuality,  configuration,  size,  weight,  and 
coloring.  The  latter  alone  has  been  pointed  out  by  Gall. 
According  to  him,  music  depends  on  one  organ,  and  language 
on  two ;  whilst  I  admit  the  organs  of  tune  and  time  as  essen- 
tial to  music,  and  only  one  organ  of  language.  I  also  limit 
his  organ  of  educability  to  eventuality,  and  consider  order  as 
a  fundamental  power. 

General  Reflections  and  Conclusion, 

I  now  bring  this  part  to  a  close,  hoping  to  have  accom- 
plished the  aim  I  had  in  view:  the  determination  of  the 
physiology  of  the  brain,  the  specification  of  the  primitive 
faculties  of  the  mind,  and  the  discovery  of  their  respective 
organs.  The  fundamental  powers  of  the  mind,  as  demon- 
strated in  Phrenology,  are  evidently  very  different  from  those 
admitted  in  any  of  the  systems  of  Philosophy  hitherto 
promulgated.  The  relations  between  Phrenology  and  the 
schools  of  Philosophy  are  discussed  in  a  separate  part. 
The  special  organs  of  the  mental  functions,  except  those  of 
feeling  and  of  voluntary  motion,  are  all  contained  in  the 
head.  Those  of  the  faculties  most  commonly  possessed  by 
animals  are  at  the  basis  of  the  brain,  and  the  others,  as  their 
functions  rank  higher,  occupy  superior  situations;  those, 
consequently,  of  the  powers  peculiar  to  man  compose  the 
entire  upper  and  fore  parts  of  the  cerebral  mass.  The  organs 
of  the  faculties,  too,  which  have  something  analogous  in 
their  nature,  as  of  the  propensities,  of  the  sentiments,  of  the 
perceptive  and  of  the  reflective  powers,  are  regularly  found 
together ;  and  those  of  the  faculties  which  more  especially  aid 
each  other  are  also  in  each  other's  vicinity.  We  can,  there- 
fore, speak  of  the  organs  under  rubrics:  amativeness, 
philoprogenitiveness,  adhesiveness,  and  inhabitiveness,  are  all 
in  one  neighborhood;  combativeness  is  surrounded  by 
amativeness,  philoprogenitiveness,  adhesiveness  and  destruc- 
tiveness ;  secretiveness  is  between  alimentiveness,  destructive- 
ness,  acquisitiveness,  and  cautiousness;  self-esteem  and 
firmness  go  together ;  so  do  adhesiveness  and  love  of  approba- 
tion; so  also  benevolence,  reverence,  hope,  and  marvellous- 


CONCLUSION 


347 


ness;  individuality  and  the  powers  which  perceive  the 
physical  qualities  of  external  objects  are  vicinant;  indi- 
viduality, eventuality,  comparison,  and  causality,  run  into 
each  other,  and  so  of  the  rest.  Organs  are,  farther,  placed 
nearer  the  mesial  line  of  the  head,  as  their  functions  are 
more  important.  Finally,  the  organs  of  the  affective  powers 
comprise  hy  far  the  greatest  mass  of  the  brain;  those  of  the 
intellectual  powers,  though  very  numerous,  are  extremely 
small.  The  whole  of  the  organs,  common  to  man  and 
animals,  are  generally  larger  than  those  which  are  proper  to 
man. 

The  primitive  powers  of  the  mind  and  their  respective 
organs,  having  been  proved  by  observation  and  induction, 
cannot  be  attacked  by  reasoning  alone;  supported  by  invari- 
able facts,  they  must  be  admitted  as  existing  by  the  will  of 
the  Great  and  Supreme  Cause  of  the  universe.  *"  TJiy  Will 
he  done  on  earth  as  it  is  in  heaven/  is  the  great  and  leading 
commandment;  Phrenology  enforces  it  upon  new  grounds, 
and  may  be  shown  to  furnish  the  most  effectual  means  of 
rendering  man  better  and  happier  than  he  is.  This,  indeed, 
must  be  the  ultimate  result  of  Phrenology. 


PHRENOLOGY 


ISTAMES  OF  THE  OEGAlsrS. 


!N^o.  I.  Organ  of  Destructiveness. 


II. 

a 

Amativeness. 

III. 

(( 

Philoprogenitiveness. 

IV. 

(( 

Adhesiveness. 

V. 

(( 

Inhabitiveness. 

VI. 

Ci 

Combativeness. 

VII. 

a 

Secretiveness. 

VIII. 

iC 

Acquisitiveness. 

IX. 

a 

Constrnctiveness. 

X. 

a 

Cautiousness. 

XL 

Love  of  approbation. 

XII. 

a 

Self-esteem. 

XIII. 

iC 

Benevolence. 

XIV. 

(< 

Reverence. 

XV. 

a  ^ 

Firmness. 

XVI. 

cc 

Conscienciousness. 

XVII. 

a 

Hope. 

XVIII. 

ii 

Marvellousness. 

XIX. 

Ci 

Ideality. 

XX. 

cc 

Mirthfulness  or  gayness. 

XXI. 

cc 

Imitation. 

XXII. 

cc 

Individuality. 

XXIII. 

cc 

Configuration. 

XXIV. 

cc 

Size. 

XXV. 

cc 

Weight  and  resistance. 

XXVI. 

cc 

Coloring. 

XXVII. 

cc 

Locality. 

XXVIII. 

cc 

Order. 

XXIX. 

cc 

Calculation. 

XXX. 

cc 

Eventuality. 

XXXI. 

cc 

Time. 

XXXII. 

cc 

Tune. 

XXXIIL 

cc 

Language. 

XXXIV. 

cc 

Comparison. 

XXXV. 

cc 

Causality. 

GENERAL  VIEW 


349 


Explanation  of  the  Figures  representing  various  Portraits,  and 
of  the  Numbers  referring  to  the  various  Organs  marked  in  the 
Plates. 

PL  I.  fig.  1.  Hydrocephalus:  idiotic  child.  Fig.  2.  Hydro- 
cephalus: adult  and  intelligent. 

PL  II.  fig.  1.    Idiot,  25  years  old.    Fig.  2.  Lord  Bacon. 

PL  III.  fig.  1.  J.  M  *  *  *,  historian,  has  ii.  large.  Fig.  2. 
A  French  abbe,  full  of  vanity  but  feeble  in  amativeness ; 
ii.  is  small. 

PL  IV.    Two  female  heads.    Fig.  1.  has  the  organ  of  philopro- 

genitiveness  large.    Fig.  2.  has  it  small. 
PL  V.    Two  views  of  heads  from  behind.    Fig.  1.  has  vi.  i.  and 

xii.  large,  x.  and  xv.  small.    Fig.  2.  on  the  contrary,  has 

vi.  i.  and  xii.  small,  and  x.  and  xv.  strongly  marked. 
PL  VI.  fig.  1.  has  vii.  and  xiii.  large;  vi.  i.  x.  and  xv.  small. 

Fig.  2.  has  vi.  i.  x.  and  xv.  large,  but  vii.  and  xiii.  small. 
PL  VII.  fig.  1.  and  2.    Heads  of  bull-dogs.    Fig.  3.  and  4. 

Heads  of  horses.    In  fig.  1.  and  3.  vi.  and  xiii.  are  large; 

the  same  organs  in  fig.  2.  and  4.  are  small. 
PL  VIII.  fig.  1.  with  a  large  developement  of  xiii.  and  xiv., 

whilst  vi.  and  i.  are  very  small.    Fig.  2.  has  vi.  i.  viii.  and 

XV.  large,  and  the  anterior  and  upper  part  of  the  head  small. 
PL  IX.  fig.  1.    Sterne:  xx.  is  very  considerable.    Fig.  2.  Shaks- 

peare,  has  xix.  and  xxi.  much  developed. 
PL  X.  fig.  1.  has  the  middle  part  of  the  forehead,  marked  xxx, 

very  prominent;  in  fig.  2.  ix.  xxii.  and  xxiii.  are  very  strong. 
PL  XI.  fig.  1.    P.  P.  Reubens :  xxvi.  very  large.    Fig,  2.  Cap- 
tain Cook:  xxvii.  much  developed. 
PL  XII.  fig.  1.    Jedidiah  Buxton:  xxix.  very  large.    Fig.  2. 

Handel:  xxxii.  very  strongly  indicated. 
PL  XIII.  fig.  1.  has  eventuality  and  language  strong.    Fig.  2. 

Horne  Tooke:  language  particularly  indicated. 
PL  XIV.  fig.  1.    J.  Abernethy,  D.  D.,  with  large  comparison. 

Fig.  2.  Kant:   the  upper  part  of  the  forehead  is  very 

prominent. 


PLATE  I. 


PLATE  II. 


PLATE  III. 


PLATE  IV. 


PLATE  V. 


PLATE  VI. 


PLATE  VII. 


PLATE  VIII. 


I 


PLATE  X. 


PLATE  XI. 


o 


PLATE  XII. 


PLATE  XIII. 


PLATE  XIV. 


PART  II. 


PHILOSOPHICAL  PRINCIPLES 

OF 

PHRENOLOGY 


SECTION  I. 

OBSERVATION'S  OIT  VARIOUS  SYSTEMS  OF  MENTAL  PHILOSOPHY. 


CHAPTER  I. 

GENERAL  VIEW  OF  MENTAL  PHILOSOPHY. 

It  may  be  indifferent  to  phrenologists  whether  the  first 
wise  men  were  among  the  Egyptians,  Chaldeans,  Indians  or 
Chinese.  As  the  fundamental  powers  of  the  mind  are  innate 
and  essentially  the  same  in  mankind,  it  is  probable  that  in 
every  nation  some  individuals  excelled  and  took  the  lead  of 
their  countrymen.  My  object  is  here  to  take  a  very  summary 
view  of  the  most  important  schools  of  philosophy. 

It  is  known  that  before  the  Greek  philosophers,  learning 
was  hereditary  in  peculiar  tribes  or  castes,  and  wisdom  the 
monopoly  of  certain  families,  of  the  priests  in  Egypt,  of  the 
Levites  among  the  Jews,  of  the  magi  in  Chaldea,  Assyria, 
and  Persia,  of  the  brahmins  among  the  Indians,  of  the  druids 
among  the  Celtic  nations,  &c.  All  knowledge  was  confined 
to  priesthood,  and  the  vulgar  relied  on  their  sayings  and 
interpretations  of  nature  and  heaven.  The  whole  tendency 
of  barbaric  philosophy,  though  employed  upon  important 
subjects,  both  divine  and  human,  was  mystical.  Instead  of 
investigating  truth  from  clear  principles,  there  was  every 
where  a  public,  or  vulgar,  and  a  concealed  or  more  philo- 
sophical doctrine.  The  sacerdocy  directed  the  religious  and 
23  353 


354 


PHRENOLOGY 


civil  concerns,  the  administration  of  justice  and  the  education 
of  youth,  clothed  their  dogmas  in  an  allegorical  dress,  and 
transmitted  them  principally  by  the  way  of  tradition,  to 
which  the  vulgar  gave  their  simple  and  easy  assent.  Igno- 
rance, superstition  and  impostors  prevailed.  It  is,  however, 
an  important  fact,  that  the  doctrines  of  a  Supreme  Deity 
"^and  the  immortality  of  the  soul  were  universally  received. 

The  founders  of  the  Grecian  states  introduced  the  mode  of 
instruction  used  in  their  native  countries  in  a  poetical  dress, 
and  under  the  disguise  of  fables,  mystery,  prodigies,  and 
mythological  enigmas.  The  management  of  the  civil  and 
religious  affairs  were  in  the  same  hands  during  the  first  period 
of  Greece  as  well  as  elsewhere.  By  degrees,  however,  prac- 
tical wisdom  appeared  under  the  exertions  of  the  seven  wise 
men;  and  Thales  from  Miletus,  the  first  of  them,  introduced 
the  scientific  method  of  philosophising. 

Theogony  and  Cosmogony,  (God  and  nature,)  were  the 
principal  objects  of  philosophical  inquiries  in  the  remotest 
ages.  The  chaos,  as  eternal,  was  generally  admitted,  and  the 
creation  from  nothing  was  unknown.  The  sum  of  the  ancient 
Theogonies  and  Cosmogonies  seems  to  be:  the  first  matter, 
containing  the  seeds  of  all  future  beings,  existed  from  eternity 
with  God.  At  length  the  Divine  Energy  upon  matter  pro- 
duced a  motion  among  its  parts  by  which  those  of  the  same 
kind  were  brought  together,  and  those  of  a  different  kind 
were  separated,  and  by  which,  according  to  certain  wise  laws, 
the  various  forms  of  the  material  world  were  produced.  The 
same  energy  of  emanation  gave  existence  to  animals,  to  men, 
and  to  gods,  who  inhabit  the  heavenly  bodies  and  various 
places  of  nature.  Among  men,  those  who  possess  a  larger 
portion  of  the  Divine  nature  than  others  are  hereby  impelled 
to  great  and  beneficent  actions,  and  afford  illustrious  proofs 
of  their  Divine  Original,  on  account  of  which  they  are  after 
death  raised  to  a  place  among  the  gods,  and  become  objects 
of  religious  worship.  Upon  the  basis  of  such  notions  the 
whole  mythological  system  and  all  the  religious  rites  and 
mysteries  of  the  Greeks  may  be  founded.    Blind  necessity 


GENERAL  VIEW  OF  MENTAL  PHILOSOPHY  355 

in  the  motion  of  the  particles  of  matter,  seems  to  have  been 
admitted  as  the  first  principle  of  nature. 

Anaxagoras  of  Clazomena  first  affirmed  that  a  pure  mind, 
perfectly  free  from  all  material  connexions,  acted  upon  mat- 
ter with  intelligence  and  design  in  the  formation  of  the  uni- 
verse. Instead  of  mixing  mind  v^ith  the  rest,  he  conceived 
it  to  be  a  separate,  simple,  pure,  and  intelligent  being,  capa- 
ble of  forming  the  eternal  mass  of  matter.  Like  Thales,  he 
believed  the  sun  and  stars  to  be  inanimate  fiery  bodies,  and 
no  23roper  objects  of  worship.  Of  course  such  doctrines 
offended  the  Athenians  and  their  priests ;  Anaxagoras  was 
banished  and  w^ent  to  Lampsacus,  saying  to  his  friends  that 
he  had  not  lost  the  Athenians,  but  the  Athenians  had  lost 
him. 

The  Ionic  school  investigated  particularly  the  origin  and 
nature  of  things,  considered  the  jexternal_jibj.ects  much  more 
than  the  nature  of  man,  and  in  men  paid  little  attention  to 
those  subjects  in  which  the  happiness  of  human  life  is  im- 
mediately concerned.  They  admired  virtue  and  extolled 
virtuous  actions  without  taking  the  pains  of  establishing  the 
principles  and  inculcating  the  precepts  of  sound  morality. 
'No  distinction  was  made  between  thoughts  and  objects 
thought  of. 

Socrates  gave  a  new  direction  to  philosophical  investiga- 
tion. He  united  with  a  penetrating  judgment,  a  liberal  mind 
and  exalted  views,  exemplary  integrity  and  purity  of  man- 
ners. Observing  with  regret  that  the  opinions  of  the  Athe- 
nians were  misled  and  their  moral  principles  corrupted,  by 
philosophers  who  spent  all  their  time  in  refined  speculations 
upon  the  origin  and  nature  of  things,  and  by  sophists  who 
taught  the  art  of  false  eloquence  and  deceitful  reasoning, 
Socrates  endeavored  to  institute  a  new  and  more  useful 
method  of  instruction.  He  conceived  that  the  true  end  of 
philosophy  is  not  an  ostentatious  display  of  superior  learning, 
neither  ingenious  conjectures,  nor  subtle  disputations,  but 
the  love  of  truth  and  virtue.  He  estimated  the  value  of 
knowledge  by  its  utility;  and  recommended  the  study  of 
astronomy,  geo^metry  and  other  sciences  only  as  far  as  they 


356 


PHRENOLOGY 


admit  of  a  practical  application  to  the  purposes  of  human  life. 
His  great  object  was  to  lead  men  into  an  acquaintance  with 
themselves,  to  convince  them  of  their  follies  and  vices,  to 
inspire  them  with  the  love  of  virtue  and  to  furnish  them  with 
useful  moral  instruction.  He  thought  it  more  reasonable 
to  examine  things  in  relation  to  man  and  the  principles  of  his 
moral  conduct,  than  such  as  lie  beyond  the  sphere  and  reach 
of  human  intellect,  and  consequently  do  not  relate  to  man. 
His  favorite  maxim  was:  whatever  is  above  us,  does  not 
concern  us. 

Socrates  had  many  disciples  who  formed  schools  or  philo- 
sophical sects,  such  as  the  Cyrenic  sect  (by  Aristippus  from 
Cyrene  in  Africa;)  the  Megaric  sect  (by  Euclid  of  Megara;) 
the  Eliac  sect ;  &c.  The  most  important  were  the  Academic 
sect  by  Plato,  the  Cynic  by  Antisthenes,  the  Peripatetic  by 
Aristotle,  and  the  Stoic  by  Zeno  from  Cyprus. 

Plato  at  the  age  of  twenty  years  attended  to  the  instruction 
of  Socrates,  remained  eight  years  with  him,  and  was  his  most 
illustrious  disciple.  At  the  death  of  Socrates  he  went  to 
Megara  and  studied  under  Euclid;  he  then  travelled  in 
Magna  Grsecia  and  was  instructed  in  the  mysteries  of  the 
Pythagorean  system;  he  also  visited  Theodorus  of  Cyrene, 
and  became  his  pupil  in  mathematical  science ;  he  even  went 
to  Egypt  to  learn  from  the  Egyptian  priests  astronomy,  re- 
turned to  the  Pythagorean  school  at  Tarentum  and  finally 
to  Athens,  where  he  opened  a  school  in  a  small  garden  and 
spent  a  long  life  in  the  instruction  of  youth.  He  mixed  the 
doctrines  of  his  masters  with  his  own  conceptions,  and  showed 
a  great  propensity  to  speculative  refinement:  he  therefore 
attached  himself  to  the  subtleties  of  the  Pythagorean  school, 
and  disdained  the  sober  method  of  reasoning  introduced  by 
Socrates.  His  discourses  on  moral  topics  are  more  pleasing 
than  when  he  loses  himself  with  Pythagoras  in  abstract 
speculations,  expressed  in  mathematical  proportions  and 
poetical  diction. 

According  to  Plato,  philosophy  as  it  is  employed  in  the 
contemplation  of  truth  is  termed  theoretical,  and  as  it  is 
conversant  in  the  regulation  of  actions,  is  practical.  The 


GENERAL  VIEW  OF  MENTAL  PHILOSOPHY 


357 


theoretical  philosophy  requires,  besides  the  contemplation 
of  truth  and  virtue,  the  right  conduct  of  understanding  and 
the  powers  of  speech  in  the  pursuit  of  knowledge. 

Plato  remembered  the  inconveniences  which  several  of 
his  predecessors  among  the  Greeks  had  brought  upon  them- 
selves by  an  undisguised  declaration  of  their  opinions.  On 
the  other  hand  he  knew  how  successfully  the  Egyptians  and 
Pythagoreans  had  employed  the  art  of  concealment  to  excite 
the  admiration  of  the  vulgar,  w^ho  are  always  inclined  to 
imagine  something  more  than  human  in  things  which  they 
do  not  understand.  Yet  he  did  not,  after  the  example  of 
Pythagoras,  demand  an  oath  of  secrecy  from  his  disciples, 
but  he  purposely  threw  over  his  public  instruction  of  various 
subjects  a  veil  of  obscurity,  which  was  only  removed  for 
those  who  were  thought  worthy  of  being  admitted  to  his  more 
private  and  confidential  lectures. 

Plato  divides  his  theoretical  philosophy  into  three 
branches:  theological,  physical  and  mathematical.  He  ad- 
mitted God  and  matter  as  eternal,  since  nothing  can  proceed 
from  nothing,  but  he  ascribed  to  God  the  power  of  formation ; 
farther,  he  speaks  of  the  soul  of  the  world  from  which  God 
separated  inferior  souls,  and  assigned  them  down  to  earth 
into  human  bodies  as  into  a  sepulchre  or  prison.  From  this 
cause  he  derived  the  depravity  and  misery  to  which  human 
nature  is  liable.  Life  is  the  conjunction  of  the  soul  with  the 
body,  death  is  their  separation. 

The  human  soul  consists  of  three  parts :  1st,  Intelligence ; 
2d,  Passion ;  3d,  Appetite. — Passion  and  appetite  depend  on 
matter ;  intellect  comes  from  God,  and  the  rational  soul  alone 
is  immortal.  The  human  understanding  is  employed,  1st, 
upon  things  which  it  comprehends  by  itself,  and  which  in 
their  nature  are  simple  and  invariable;  or  2d,  upon  things 
which  are  subject  to  the  senses  and  which  are  liable  to  change. 
Sense  is  the  passive  perception  of  the  soul  through  the 
medium  of  the  body. 

In  his  Republic  or  political  doctrine,  he  wished  to  subju- 
gate passion  and  appetite  by  means  of  reason  or  abstract 


358 


PHRENOLOGY 


contemplation  of  ideas,  a  conception  which  prevails  still 
now-a-days,  and  which  will  be  cleared  up  by  Phrenology. 

His  notions  of  morality  were  exaggerated.  He  placed  the 
greatest  happiness  in  the  contemplation  and  knowledge  of 
the  first  good — God ;  and  the  end  of  knowing  God,  in  endeav- 
oring to  render  men  as  like  to  God  as  the  condition  of  human 
nature  will  permit.  This  likeness  consists  in  prudence,  jus- 
tice, sanctity  and  temperance.  To  attain  this  state  it  is  neces- 
sary to  be  convinced  that  the  body  is  a  prison,  from  which 
the  soul  must  be  released  before  it  can  arrive  at  the  knowledge 
of  real  and  immutable  things.  The  virtuous  tendency  of 
man  is  a  gift  of  God,  the  effect  of  reason  alone,  and  cannot 
be  taught. 

The  followers  of  Plato  introduced  in  his  philosophy  various 
changes  and  new  opinions,  and  increased  thereby  its  obscu- 
rity ; — This  happened  particularly  in  Alexandria,  where  Pla- 
tonic philosophy  was  mingled  with  traditionary  tenets  of 
Egypt  and  Eastern  nations,  and  with  the  sacred  principles 
of  the  Jews  and  Christians. 

Aristotle,  from  Stagyra,  a  town  in  Thrace,  at  the  age  of 
seventeen  years  went  to  Athens,  devoted  himself  to  the  study 
of  philosophy  in  the  school  of  Plato,  and  continued  in  the 
Academy  till  Plato's  death.  Several  years  later  he  was 
chosen  as  preceptor  of  Alexander  son  of  Philip,  was  eight 
years  with  Alexander,  and  when  Alexander  undertook  his 
Asiatic  expedition  formed  a  new  school  in  the  Lyceum — a 
grove  in  the  suburb  of  Athens,  which  was  used  for  military 
exercise.  Since  he  walked  in  discoursing  with  his  disciples, 
his  sect  was  called  the  Peripatetics.  He  had  two  classes  of 
disciples.  In  the  morning  he  instructed  the  select,  in  the 
evening  the  Lyceum  was  open  to  all  young  men  without 
distinction.  His  study  is  rather  that  of  words  than  of 
things,  and  tends  more  to  perplex  the  undeistanding  with 
subtle  distinctions  than  to  enlighten  it  with  real  knowledge. 

His  logical  dissertations  are  not  sufficiently  clear;  they 
contain  many  subtleties  which  of  course  produce  obscurity. 
He  was  fond  of  syllogistic  reasoning,  but  did  not  carefully 
distinguish  between  words  and  ideas.    He  reduced  the  gen- 


GENERAL  VIEW  OF  MENTAL  PHILOSOPHY 


359 


eral  terms  to  ten  classes — or  categories.  Plato  had  learnt  the 
arrangement  of  categories  from  the  Pythagorean  school,  who 
considered  ten  as  a  perfect  number.  Aristotle's  categories 
are,  1st,  substance; — 2d,  quantity; — 3d,  relation; — ith,  qual- 
ity;— 5th,  action; — 6th,  passion; — 7th,  when  or  time; — 
8th,  where  or  place ; — 9th,  situation  or  local  relation ; — 10th, 
habit.  Later,  five  other  general  heads  were  added,  viz.  oppo- 
sition, priority,  coincidence,  motion,  and  possession.  In  his 
physics,  the  explanation  of  the  natural  appearances  is  tedi- 
ous.— In  his  metaphysical  doctrine  of  the  Deity  and  soul, 
he  divests  God  of  the  glory  of  creation,  connects  him  with  a 
world  already  formed  by  the  chain  of  necessity,  but  makes 
him  the  first  spring  and  cause  of  all  motion.  God  is  con- 
stantly occupied  with  the  contemplation  of  his  own  nature, 
and  so  removed  from  the  inferior  parts  of  the  universe  that 
he  is  not  even  a  spectator  of  what  is  passing  among  the  in- 
habitants of  the  earth,  and  therefore  cannot  be  a  proper 
object  of  worship,  prayers  and  sacrifices. — The  human  soul 
has  three  faculties :  nutritive,  sensitive  and  rational.  By  the 
nutritive  faculty  life  is  produced  and  preserved; — ^by  the 
sensitive  we  perceive  and  feel.  He  nowhere  says  whether 
the  soul  is  mortal  or  immortal.  He  placed  moral  felicity 
neither  in  the  pleasures  of  the  body,  nor  in  riches,  civil  glory, 
powder,  rank,  nor  in  the  contemplation  of  truth,  but  in  the 
exercise  of  virtue,  which  is  in  itself  a  source  of  delight. 
Virtue  is  either  theoretical — the  exercise  of  the  understand- 
ing, or  practical — the  pursuit  of  what  is  right  and  good. — 
Practical  virtue  is  acquired  by  habit. 

Aristotle  by  his  metaphysical  doctrines  offended  the  priest- 
hood. Apprehensive  of  meeting  with  the  fate  of  Socrates, 
he  left  Athens,  saying :  I  am  not  willing  to  give  the  Athenians 
an  opportunity  of  committing  a  second  offence  against  philos- 
ophy. He  had  continued  his  school  twelve  years,  and 
appointed  Theophrastus,  one  of  his  favorite  pupils,  as  his 
successor. 

The  Cynic  sect,  founded  by  Antisthenes,  an  Athenian, 
was  not  so  much  a  school  of  philosophy  as  an  institution  of 
manners.    Socrates,  perceiving  the  great  tendency  of  the 


360 


PHRENOLOGY 


Athenians  for  futile  speculations,  extreme  effeminacy,  luxury 
and  vanity,  recommended  practical  wisdom.  The  Cynics 
fell  into  the  other  extreme. — They  taught  simplicity  of  man- 
ners, but  passed  beyond  the  limits  of  decorum,  and  at  last 
became  ridiculous  and  disgusting. 

Zeno  admired  the  general  principle  of  the  Cynic  school,  but 
could  not  reconcile  himself  to  their  peculiar  manners,  nor 
could  he  adopt  their  indifference  about  every  scientific  in- 
quiry. He  attended  the  different  masters  of  philosophy,  and 
then  became  a  founder  of  a  new  sect,  called  Stoic  from  Stoa — 
porch,  viz.  the  place  of  their  school.  There  were  great  con- 
tests between  Zeno  and  the  academy  on  one  side,  and  be- 
tween Zeno  and  Epicurus  on  the  other.  Zeno  borrowed  his 
doctrine  on  physics  from  Pythagoras  and  Plato;  he  excels 
more  by  his  strict  system  of  moral  discipline.  Whilst  Epi- 
curus taught  his  followers  to  seek  happiness  in  tranquillity 
and  freedom  from  labor  and  pain,  Zeno  imagined  his  wise 
man  not  only  free  from  all  sense  of  pleasure,  but  void  of 
all  passions  and  emotions,  without  fear  and  hope,  and  capable 
of  being  happy  in  the  midst  of  torture.  Epicurus  believed 
in  the  fortuitous  concourse  of  atoms;  whilst  Zeno  admitted 
fate,  or  an  eternal  and  immutable  series  of  causes  and  effects. 
According  to  the  Stoics,  wisdom  consists  in  the  knowledge 
of  things  divine  or  human.  Virtue  is  the  only  true  wisdom ; 
and  the  mind  of  man  is  originally  like  a  blank  sheet,  wholly 
without  character  but  capable  of  receiving  any.  The  con- 
formity to  nature  is  the  great  end  of  existence.  Virtue  is 
to  be  sought  for  not  through  the  fear  of  punishment,  or  the 
hope  of  reward,  but  for  its  own  sake.  Virtue,  being  in 
conformity  to  nature,  is  in  itself  happiness. 

Man  has  duties  towards  God,  towards  himself,  and  towards 
his  neighbors.  God  is  the  author  of  all  that  is  good,  and 
the  Supreme  director  of  all  human  affairs.  The  pious  man 
reveres  God  in  all  events ;  is  in  every  thing  resigned  to  God's 
will;  considers  whatever  befalls  him  as  right,  and  the  will 
of  God;  and  cheerfully  follows  wherever  divine  providence 
leads  him,  even  to  suffering  or  death.  Piety,  in  short,  is 
nothing  but  a  quiet  submission  to  irresistible  fate. 


GENERAL  VIEW  OF  MENTAL  PHILOSOPHY 


361 


Man's  duty  with  respect  to  himself  is  to  subdue  his  pas- 
sions of  joy  and  sorrow,  hope  and  fear,  and  even  pity.  It 
is  virtuous  self-denial  and  self-command.  Man  may  with- 
draw from  life  because  life  and  death  are  indifferent  things, 
and  death  may  be  more  consistent  with  nature  than  life. 

Our  duty  towards  others  is  to  love  all  men,  even  our  ene- 
mies. A  wise  man  w^ill  injure  no  one,  will  feel  pleasure  in 
protecting  and  serving  others.  He  will  not  think  himself 
born  for  himself  alone,  but  for  the  common  good  of  mankind. 
He  is  rewarded  for  his  good  by  itself  without  applause  or 
recompense.  The  wise  man  will  disdain  sorrow  from  sym- 
pathy as  well  as  from  personal  suffering.  He  is  ready  to 
exercise  lenity  and  benignity,  and  to  attend  to  the  welfare 
of  others  and  to  the  general  interest  of  mankind,  but  pity 
towards  a  criminal  is  weakness. 

Another  great  branch  of  Greek  philosophy  sprung  from 
Pythagoras  and  sprouted  out  into  the  Eleatic,  Heraclitean, 
Epicurean,  and  Skeptic  sects.  Pythagoras,  probably  from 
Samos,  went  to  Egypt,  spent  there  twenty-two  years,  under- 
went at  Thebes  many  severe  and  troublesome  ceremonies  in 
order  to  gain  the  confidence  of  the  priests  and  to  be  instructed 
in  their  most  concealed  doctrines.  His  method  of  teaching 
was  mysterious  and  after  the  example  of  the  Egyptian  priests. 
He  even  boasted  to  be  capable  of  doing  miracles,  and  to  have 
received  his  doctrine  from  heaven.  He  had  public  and  pri- 
vate disciples.  The  oath  of  secrecy  was  given  by  the  initiated 
concerning  the  doctrine  of  God  and  nature.  He  taught  theo- 
retical and  practical  philosophy.  The  former  contemplates 
things  of  an  immutable,  eternal  and  incorruptible  nature,  the 
other  teaches  things  necessary  for  the  purposes  of  life.  Theo- 
retical or  contemplative  wisdom  could  not  be  obtained  without 
a  total  abstraction  from  the  ordinary  affairs  of  life  and  a 
perfect  tranquillity  of  mind ;  hence  the  necessity  of  a  society 
separated  from  the  world  for  the  purpose  of  contemplation. 
Man  was  composed  of  body  and  soul,  the  soul  of  a  rational 
principle,  seated  in  the  brain,  and  of  an  irrational  part  in- 
cluding the  passions  and  seated  in  the  heart.  The  rational 
part  {fp'O^)  is  immortal,  the  irrational  part  perishes.  The 


362 


PHRENOLOGY 


rational  soul  after  suffering  successive  purgations  by  trans- 
migration, and  sufficiently  purified,  is  received  among  the 
gods  and  returns  to  the  eternal  source  from  which  it  first 
proceeded.  The  Pythagoreans,  therefore,  abstained  from 
animal  food  and  from  animal  sacrifices.  The  object  of  all 
their  moral  precepts  was  to  lead  man  to  the  imitation  of  God. 
They  supposed,  like  the  Egyptians,  the  air  full  of  spirits 
and  demons,  who  caused  health  or  sickness  among  men  and 
beasts. 

Among  the  Eleatic  sect  was  Democritus,  the  derider  who 
laughed  at  the  follies  of  mankind,  whilst  Heraclitus  of 
Ephesus,  another  follower  of  Pythagoras,  was  perpetually 
shedding  tears  on  account  of  the  vices  of  mankind  and  par- 
ticularly of  his  countrymen,  the  Ephesians. 

Epicurus,  an  Athenian,  was  of  opinion  that  nothing  de- 
served the  name  of  learning  which  was  not  conducive  to  the 
haj^piness  of  life.  He  excelled  by  urbanity  and  captivating 
manners,  made  pleasure  the  end  of  his  philosophy  and  wis- 
dom a  guide  to  it.  He  treated  vulgar  superstitions  mth 
contempt,  dismissed  the  gods  from  the  care  of  the  world, 
admitted  nothing  but  material  atoms,  was  opposed  to  the 
austerity  of  the  Stoics,  and  rejected  providence  and  fate, 
doctrines  so  strongly  maintained  by  the  Stoics.  He  consid- 
ered the  regulation  of  manners  (Ethics)  as  more  important 
than  the  knowledge  of  physics.  He  was  an  enemy  of  the 
third  part  of  philosophical  doctrines — dialectics,  as  only 
productive  of  idle  quibbles  and  fruitless  cavilling. — He  placed 
truth  above  any  other  consideration,  and  the  end  of  living 
in  happiness.  Philosophy  ought  to  be  employed  in  search 
of  felicity:  bodily  ease  and  mental  tranquillity  through 
temperance,  moderation,  fortitude,  justice,  benevolence  and 
friendship. 

Among  the  philosophers  who  regarded  the  testimony  of  the 
external  senses  as  illusive,  Pyrrho,  from  Elea,  the  founder 
of  the  Pyrrhonic  sect,  carried  his  doubts  to  the  extreme. 
This  school  rejected  every  inference  drawn  from  sensations, 
and  admitted  as  a  fundamental  principle  that  to  every  argu- 
ment an  argument  of  equal  weight  might  in  all  cases  be 


GENERAL  VIEW  OF  MENTAL  PHILOSOPHY 


363 


opposed.  The  Pjrrlionic  philosophers  had  the  tendency 
rather  to  demolish  every  other  philosophical  structure  than 
to  erect  one  of  their  own.  If  it  be  true  that  Pyrrho  carried 
his  skepticism  to  such  a  ridiculous  degree  that  his  friends 
were  obliged  to  accompany  him  whenever  he  went  out  that  he 
might  not  be  run  over  by  carriages  or  fall  down  precipices, 
his  mind  was  deranged. 

The  Eomans  conquered  the  Greeks  by  arms,  but  submitted 
to  their  understanding  and  manners.  They  found  among 
them  philosophical  systems  for  all  tastes.  The  gloomy  and 
contemplative  adopted  the  Pythagorean  and  Platonic  creeds. 
Brutus  was  favorable  to  the  union  of  the  Platonic  and  Stoic 
philosophy.  Cicero  was  rather  a  warm  admirer  and  an  ele- 
gant memorialist  of  philosophy  than  a  practical  philosopher 
himself.  He  held  Plato  in  high  respect,  especially  for  his 
philosophy  of  nature;  he  also  was  an  admirer  of  the  Stoic 
system  concerning  natural  equity  and  civil  law;  he  praised 
their  ideas  concerning  morals,  but  he  was  continually  fluc- 
tuating between  hope  and  fear,  averse  to  contention,  and 
incapable  of  vigorous  resolutions,  and  full  of  vanity.  Cato 
of  Utica  was  a  true  Stoic ; — Lucretius  and  Horace  were  of  the 
Epicurean  sect ; — Plutarch,  like  Cicero,  rather  an  interpreter 
of  philosophers  than  an  eminent  philosopher  himself.  Epic- 
tetus  taught  the  purest  morals,  and  his  life  was  an  admirable 
pattern  of  sobriety,  magnanimity  and  the  most  rigid  virtue. 
Marcus  Aurelius  was  the  last  ornament  of  the  Stoic  school. 

About  the  close  of  the  second  century  arose  at  Alexandria 
the  Eclectic  system:  a  mixture  of  the  different  tenets  of 
philosophy  and  religion,  to  the  detriment  of  both.  Pagan 
ideas  were  mixed  with  Christianity,  and  the  different  sects 
of  philosophy  were  arbitrarily  interpreted.  Subtle  distinc- 
tions, airy  suppositions  and  vague  terms  were  introduced; 
and  innumerable  trifles  were  proposed  under  the  appearance 
of  profound  philosophy. — Pagans  became  Christians  and 
associated  their  ideas  and  language  with  Christianity,  and 
the  fathers  of  the  Christian  church  studied  the  ancient  phi- 
losophers to  furnish  themselves  with  weapons  against  their 
adversaries,  to  show  the  superiority  of  the  Christian  doctrine, 


364, 


PHRENOLOGY 


and  to  adorn  themselves  with  the  embellishment  of  erudition. 
Many  did  not  distinguish  between  the  light  of  revelation  and 
that  of  reason.  N^othing  could  be  expected  for  philosophy 
from  those  who  w^ere  busily  occupied  in  disputes  with  infidels 
and  heretics. 

From  the  beginning  of  the  seventh  century  to  the  twelfth 
the  Scholastic  and  Mystic  theology  sprung  lup.  The  irrup- 
tions of  Barbarians  had  confined  philosophy  and  learning  to 
monastic  institutions,  whilst  the  people  were  ignorant  and 
superstitious.  During  the  dark  ages  up  to  the  fourteenth 
century  philosophy  resembles  a  barren  wilderness ;  it  was  the 
handmaid  of  theology:  and  though  the  Scholastics  paid  to 
Aristotle  almost  religious  reverence,  their  minds  were  dark- 
ened by  Aristotle's  dialectics  and  logic,  and  their  idle  con- 
tests continued  to  disturb  the  world.  The  syllogistic  form 
of  reasoning  became  general,  and  the  forms  of  technical 
phraseology  were  infinite.  I  copy  only  one  example  from 
Dr.  Th.  Brown's  lectures  on  philosophy,  (stereotype  edition, 
p.  32 Y)  where  he  quotes  how  a  scholastic  logician  proves  by 
a  long  technical  argumentation  that  the  impossible  differs 
from  what  is  possible :  '  whatever  of  itself  and  in  itself  in- 
cludes things  contradictory,  differs  in  itself  from  that  which 
of  itself  and  in  itself  does  not  imply  any  thing  contradictory. 
But  what  is  impossible  of  itself  and  in  itself  involves  things 
contradictory,  for  example,  an  irrational  human  being,  a 
round  square.  But  what  is  possible  of  itself  and  in  itself, 
includes  no  contradiction.  Therefore  what  is  impossible  in 
itself  differs  from  what  is  possible.' 

Various  sects,  as  the  JsTominalists,  Eealists,  Verbalists, 
Formalists,  Thomists,  Scothists,  and  Occamists,  were  at  open 
war  with  each  other. 

The  Aristotelian  philosophy  was  kept  up,  since  it  was 
the  common  opinion  that  the  ancient  Greeks  had  attained 
the  sunmiit  of  science,  so  that  after  all  the  question  was  what 
Aristotle,  Plato,  or  Pythagoras  had  taught,  rather  than  what 
was  true.  Philosophy  and  religion  were  so  mixed  together 
that  some  called  themselves  Scriptural  philosophers,  not  to 


GENERAL  VIEW  OF  MENTAL  PHILOSOPHY  365 

show  that  the  general  principles  of  reason  and  the  natural  law 
of  morality  agree  with  the  doctrine  of  Scripture,  but  to  desig- 
nate that  all  philosophy,  even  of  physical  and  metaphysical 
science,  is  derived  from  divine  revelation.  Others  called 
themselves  Theosophists,  and  professed  to  derive  their  knowl- 
edge from  divine  illumination  or  inspiration.  Fraud  and 
hypocrisy  were  encouraged,  to  secure  the  credit  of  the  church 
among  the  vulgar  and  ignorant.  'Naj,  it  became  a  rule: 
abroad,  with  the  people ;  at  home  as  you  please. 

At  last  in  the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth  century,  the  taste 
for  polite  literature  revived  in  Italy,  and  the  bold  reformers 
in  Germany  endeavored  to  correct  the  corruption  of  relig- 
ion. Luther  perceived  the  connexion  of  philosophy  and  re- 
ligion, and  declared,  that  it  would  be  impossible  to  reform 
the  church  without  entirely  abolishing  the  canons  and  decre- 
tals, and  with  them  the  scholastic  theology,  philosophy  and 
logic,  and  without  instituting  others  in  their  stead.  Luther, 
Paracelsus,  Eamus  and  Gassendi  were  eminent  demolishers 
of  the  Aristotelian  philosophy. 

After  the  revival  of  letters  and  restoration  of  sciences, 
Bacon,  Descartes  and  Leibnitz  were  eminent  in  philosophy. 
Bacon  became  a  great  reformer  and  founder  of  true  philoso- 
phy. He  established  observation  and  induction  as  the  basis 
of  knowledge,  whilst  the  essentials  of  Descartes'  philosophy, 
like  those  of  many  predecessors,  were  thought,  and  the  knowl- 
edge obtained  by  thought.  Leibnitz,  like  Plato,  never 
arranged  his  philosophy  methodically,  yet  he  admitted  two 
kinds  of  perceptions:  one  without  and  the  other  with  con- 
sciousness; farther,  he  considered  the  knowledge  procured 
by  the  senses  as  individual,  accidental  and  changeable,  but 
that  obtained  by  thinking  and  reasoning  as  general,  necessary 
and  positive.  According  to  Leibnitz  the  reasoning  power  is 
endowed  with  principles,  all  phenomena  are  intellectual,  and 
there  is  a  harmony  pre-established  between  the  knowledge 
a  priori  and  external  sensations.  The  latter  only  quicken 
the  former.  Phrenology  denies  the  established  harmony  of 
Leibnitz  between  innate  ideas  and  external  sensations;  it 
considers  sensations  and  ideas  as  acquired,  and  admits  only 


366 


PHRENOLOGY 


innate  dispositions  to  acquire  sensations  and  ideas.  Yet  it 
admits  also  a  kind  of  pre-established  harmony,  concerning 
existence,  between  the  special  powers  and  the  object  of  their 
satisfaction.  Wherever  there  is  a  power,  it  finds  an  object. 
This  has  been  the  cause,  that  many  philosophers  have  derived 
the  powers  from  their  objects  of  satisfaction.  There  are  ob- 
jects to  be  perceived ;  these  were  said  to  be  the  cause  of  the 
perceptive  power,  whilst  the  power  of  perceiving  and  the 
object  of  being  perceived  exist  separately  and  are  only  calcu- 
lated for  each  other.  There  may,  however,  be  many  objec- 
tivities which  man  cannot  perceive  for  want  of  special  powers. 

Hobbes  was  persecuted  for  his  theological  and  political 
heresies,  and  therefore  his  views  of  philosophy  were  neglected, 
though  Locke  borrowed  from  him  some  of  his  most  important 
observations  on  the  association  of  ideas.  According  to  Male- 
branche,  God  is  wherever  there  is  mind,  and  God  is  the 
medium  of  sensation.  Malebranche  furnishes  to  Locke  his 
notions  on  habits  and  genius,  to  Hartley  his  theory  on  vibra- 
tions, and  to  Berkeley  the  ancient  theory  of  Pyrrho,  viz.  that 
the  material  objects  have  no  other  existence  than  in  the  mind. 

Locke's  philosophy  became  the  basis  of  the  greater  number 
of  philosophical  opinions  in  England  and  France.  He  de- 
nied the  innate  ideas  and  innate  principles  of  morality,  and 
maintained  with  jiristotle  *  that  all  knowledge  begins  with 
experience,  or  that  all  primary  notions  begin  with  sensation. 
According  to  him,  the  mind  begins  with  external  sensations, 
and  then  by  means  of  its  perception,  retention,  contemplation, 
comparison,  reflection,  or  by  its  faculties  of  composing  and 
abstracting,  it  executes  all  the  particular  operations  of  think- 
ing and  volition.  In  his  system  even  the  feelings  and  moral 
principles  result  mediately  from  the  understanding. 

Locke  has  some  merit;  he  is  a  great  lover  of  truth,  and 
his  work  contains  many  judicious  remarks  brought  together 
from  various  quarters,  and  he  has  greatly  contributed  to  do 
away  the  rubbish  of  a  learned  jargon  about  the  innate  ideas 
and  Platonic  mysticism.    But  there  is  a  want  of  originality. 


*  Nihil  est  in  intellectu  quod  non  prius  fuerit  in  sensu. 


GENERAL  VIEW  OF  MENTAL  PHILOSOPHY  367 


consistency  and  precision  in  his  work.  He  is  a  wordy  com- 
mentator of  Bacon,  Hobbes  and  Malebranche.  The  beset- 
ting sin  of  all  his  compositions  is  diifnseness  and  indistinct- 
ness.— Hobbes  had  compared  the  mind  with  a  slate,  Locke 
compared  it  with  a  white  paper.  This  prepared  the  errors 
of  Condillac,  who  gave  all  to  the  senses ;  and  to  those  of  Dr. 
Hartley  who  explained  the  operations  of  the  mind  by  vibra- 
tions, and  who  thought  ^  that  all  the  most  complex  ideas  arise 
from  sensation,  and  that  reflection  is  not  a  distinct  source, 
as  Mr.  Locke  makes  it.' 

I  think  with  Dugald  Stewart  that  the  work  of  Locke  has 
been  more  applauded  than  studied.  The  French  writers,  par- 
ticularly Voltaire,  have  most  contributed  to  his  celebrity. 
Voltaire  said  that  Locke  alone  had  developed  the  human  un- 
derstanding, and  he  calls  him  the  Hercules  of  metaphysi- 
cians ;  yet  the  French  did  not  understand  the  basis  of  Locke's 
philosophy,  when  they  maintained  that  he  denied  the  innate 
dispositions  of  the  mind,  and  when  they  confounded  Con- 
dillac's  philosophy  with  that  of  Locke. 

Among  the  Scotch  philosophers  the  most  remarkable  are, 
Hume,  who  not  only  confined  all  knowledge  to  mere  experi- 
ence, but  also  denied  the  necessity  of  causation; — Dr.  Keid, 
who  speaks  of  intellectual  and  active  powers  of  man; — 
Dugald  Stewart,  who  deserves  more  credit  for  his  style  than 
for  his  ideas ; — and  Dr.  Th.  Brown. 

The  principal  modem  schools  of  philosophy  in  Germany, 
are  the  critical  philosophy,  the  transcendental  idealism,  and 
the  philosophy  of  nature.  Kant,  the  founder  of  the  critical 
philosophy,  distinguished  two  kinds  of  knowledge,  one  ex- 
perimental (Kritik  der  reinen  Vernunft,)  and  another 
founded  on  belief  (Kritik  der  pradischen  Vernunft.)  He 
maintained  that  the  first  kind  is  only  relative,  subjective,  or 
phenomenal,  or  that  we  know  only  the  relation  of  the  subject 
to  the  object;  that  we  do  not  know  either  the  subject  or  the 
object  in  itself,  but  both  in  their  mutual  relations  only,  and 
that  this  relation  constitutes  their  reality  to  us.  The  subject 
he  conceived  endowed  with  particular  categories  which  are 
applied  to  the  object;  whatever  is  general  and  necessary  in 


368 


PHRENOLOGY 


knowledge  belonged  to  the  subject,  while  the  particular  and 
variable  is  the  attribute  of  the  object.  Hence  all  experi- 
mental knowledge  is  founded  upon  dualism;  upon  the  union 
of  the  subject  and  object;  for,  even  the  categories,  though 
inherent  in  the  subject,  and  conceived  by  the  mind  from 
within,  acquire  objective  reality  only  by  their  application 
to  the  object.  Kant,  though  he  considered  both  subject  and 
object,  had,  however,  the  subject  more  in  mind  than  the 
object.  lie  reduced  all  categories  or  forms,  according  to 
which  the  mind  acquires  experimental  knowledge,  to  four 
kinds — to  quantity,  quality,  relation,  and  modality ;  of  these 
the  two  first  concern  objects  in  general,  and  the  two  last  the 
relations  of  objects  to  each  other  and  to  our  understanding. 
Thus  Kant  admits  notions  independent  of  experience,  as 
conceptions  of  space,  time,  cause,  and  others;  and  considers 
these  conceptions,  not  as  the  result  of  external  impressions, 
but  of  the  faculties  of  the  subject:  they  exist  from  within, 
and  by  their  means  we  are  acquainted  with  the  objects.  Our 
notions  of  morality,  of  God,  and  of  immortality,  are  not  ex- 
perimental, but  belong  to  the  practical  understanding,  and 
originate  a  priori.    Liberty  is  a  postulatum. 

Eichte  went  farther,  and  taught  the  system  of  transcen- 
dental idealism,  according  to  which  all  certainty  and  reality 
is  confined  to  the  subject,  who  has  knowledge  only  of  his 
own  modifications,  and  by  means  of  abstraction  and  reflection, 
arrives  at  intellectual  intuition. 

The  philosophy  of  nature  of  Schelling  rejects  subject  and 
object,  makes  no  abstraction  or  reflection,  but  begins  with  in- 
tellectual intuition,  and  professes  to  know  objects  immedi- 
ately in  themselves.  It  does  not  consider  the  objects  as  exist- 
ing but  as  originating;  it  constructs  them  speculatively 
a  priori.  Absolute  liberty  and  existence  without  qualities, 
are  the  basis  of  this  system. 

As  the  philosophy  of  Locke  has  hitherto  prevailed  in  Eng- 
land, as  it  has  given  occasion  to  that  of  Condillac,  and  as 
the  system  of  Dr.  Th.  Brown  admits  more  fundamental 
powers  of  the  mind  than  any  former  philosophy,  I  shall 
compare  them  with  phrenology. 


GENERAL  VIEW  OF  MENTAL  PHILOSOPHY  369 


I  agree  with  both  authors  in  placing  truth  above  any  other 
consideration,  and  in  maintaining  that  we  cannot  examine  the 
mind  in  itself,  but  are  confined  to  the  contemplation  of  the 
mental  phenomena. 

Locke  and  Brown  consider  the  functions  of  the  external 
senses  as  dependent  on  the  nervous  system,  but  the  other  men- 
tal operations  as  independent  of  organization;  whilst  phre- 
nology proves  that  every  mental  phenomenon  depends  on 
some  bodily  condition  or  organ,  after  the  example  of  the 
external  senses. 

Locke  admits  in  the  mind  understanding  and  will; — Dr. 
BrowTi,  intellect  and  emotions.  The  subdivision  of  under- 
standing by  Locke  is  into  perception,  retention  or  memory, 
contemplation  or  judgment  and  imagination;  and  that  of 
will  into  various  degrees,  from  simple  desire  to  passion. 
The  subdivision  of  intellect  by  Th.  Brown  is,  1st,  into  simple 
suggestions,  including  every  association  of  ideas,  conception, 
memory,  imagination,  habit,  and  all  conceptions  and  feelings 
of  the  past;  and  2d,  into  relative  suggestions  of  coexistence 
or  of  succession ;  the  former  of  which  include  the  suggestions 
of  resemblance  or  difference,  of  position,  of  degree,  of  pro- 
portion, and  of  the  relation  which  the  whole  bears  to  its 
parts ;  and  of  which  the  second  comprehends  judgment,  reason 
and  abstraction.  His  subdivision  of  emotions  is  into  imme- 
diate, retrospective  and  prospective.  He  admits  a  greater 
number  of  primitive  emotions  independent  of  intellect,  and 
in  this  respect  he  comes  nearer  phrenology  than  any  other 
philosopher;  he  also  calls  the  division  of  Locke  into  under- 
standing and  will,  illogical.  Thus  in  the  great  division 
of  the  mental  phenomena  he  agrees  with  phrenology,  which 
positively  has  the  priority  over  him.  But  Dr.  BroAvn's  sub- 
divisions of  the  mental  phenomena  are  very  different  from 
the  phrenological  analysis  and  classification.  Earther,  Dr. 
Brown  considers  the  various  emotions  of  the  mind  indepen- 
dently of  brain.  His  philosophy  therefore  coincides  with 
phrenology  only  in  the  first  principle,  viz.  in  admitting  men- 
tal phenomena  different  from  the  intellectual  states  of  mind ; 
but  his  philosophy  can  never  be  confounded  with  phrenology. 

24 


370 


PHRENOLOGY 


Locke  denied  the  innate  ideas  and  the  innate  moral  prin- 
ciples. I  agree  with  him  in  that  respect,  but  he  admits  only- 
innate  dispositions  for  ideas,  and  derives  the  moral  principles 
from  them,  whilst  I  admit  also  innate  moral  dispositions, 
which  are  as  essential  to  the  conception  of  moral  principles 
as  the  innate  intellectual  dispositions  to  the  formation  of 
ideas. 

The  reason  why  Locke  denied  the  innate  maxims  of  moral- 
ity, viz.  because  certain  children  or  adults  and  certain  nations 
are  without  them  or  possess  them  variously  modified,  is  not 
at  all  valuable,  since  innate  faculties  may  be  inactive  on 
account  of  the  defective  development  of  their  respective 
organs,  and  their  functions  may  be  modified  by  their 
combined  operation  with  other  faculties. 

Locke  derives  the  primitive  activity  of  the  mind,  from 
external  impressions  on  the  senses ;  phrenology  on  the  con- 
trary, in  admitting  external  senses  and  two  orders  of  internal 
faculties,  maintains  that  the  internal  dispositions,  though  they 
may  be  excited  by  external  impressions,  are  often  active  by 
their  o^vn  inherent  power  alone.  According  to  Locke,  moral 
principles  must  be  proved.  I  think  they  must  be  felt.  It 
is  to  be  remarked  that  according  to  phrenology,  there  is  an 
internal  and  spontaneous  or  instinctive  activity,  independent 
of  external  impressions,  as  far  as  the  feelings  are  concerned, 
but  also  as  the  intellectual  faculties  and  experimental  knowl- 
edge are  implicated.  The  abstract  conceptions  or  intuitive 
notions  are  furnished  by  the  intellectual  faculties  themselves. 
The  notion  of  identity,  for  instance,  or  that  the  same  is  the 
same ;  that  the  whole  is  greater  than  the  half ;  that  two  and 
two  are  four;  that  nothing  can  exist  except  in  space;  that 
nothing  can  happen  except  in  time ;  and  that  there  is  nothing 
without  a  cause,  &c.,  are  internal  operations  of  mind  as  well 
as  the  instincts,  propensities,  and  sentiments. 

Another  essential  difference  between  Locke,  Dr.  Brown  and 
all  other  philosophers  on  one  side,  and  phrenology  on  the 
other,  is  that  the  former  think  that  we  perceive  the  existence 
of  external  objects  and  their  original  qualities,  such  as  size, 
figure,  mobility,  number,  color,  &c.,  by  means  of  the  five 


GENERAL  VIEW  OF  MENTAL  PHILOSOPHY  371 

senses  and  their  impressions  alone ;  whilst  I  treat  of  the  imme- 
diate and  mediate  functions  of  the  senses  (See  Part  I.  Art. 
External  Senses,)  and  ascribe  very  few  ideas  to  the  external 
senses,  but  the  greater  number,  as  those  of  size,  figure,  weight, 
color,  order  and  number,  to  internal  faculties. 

Thus  I  admit  in  the  mind  external  senses  by  which  the 
mind  and  the  external  world  are  brought  into  communication, 
and  made  mutually  influential.  The  internal  faculties  are 
feelings  and  intellect.  Both  sorts  may  act  by  their  internal 
power,  or  may  be  excited  by  appropriate  impressions  from 
without.  The  knowledge  of  our  feelings  is  as  positive  as 
the  experimental  from  without.  Every  determinate  action 
of  any  faculty  depends  on  two  conditions,  the  faculty  and 
the  object.  The  intellectual  faculties  are  perceptive  and 
reflective.  The  feelings  and  perceptive  faculties  are  in  rela- 
tion and  adapted  to  the  external  world,  whilst  the  reflective 
faculties  are  applied  to  the  feelings  and  experimental  knowl- 
edge and  are  destined  to  bring  all  the  particular  feelings  and 
notions  into  harmony. 

Erom  this  summary  view  of  philosophy  it  follows,  that  the 
ancient  philosophers  were  principally  occupied  with  theogony, 
cosmogony,  physics,  logic,  dialectics,  ethics  and  politics,  and 
that  in  reference  to  man  they  examined  his  intellectual 
operations,  moral  actions  and  social  relations,  rather  than 
his  nature. 

Though  this  important  object — the  basis  of  all  political 
sciences — has  been  investigated  by  later  philosophers,  its 
study  will  be  newly  modelled  and  its  principles  established 
by  phrenology,  in  showing  a  posteriori  the  nature,  number 
and  origin  of  the  human  faculties,  the  conditions  of  their 
operations,  their  mutual  influence,  their  modes  of  acting,  and 
the  natural  laws  by  which  their  manifestations  are  regulated. 
I  conclude  this  chapter  with  D'Alembert,  in  saying,  that 
hitherto  there  has  been  a  great  deal  of  philosophizing  in  which 
there  is  but  little  philosophy. 


379 


PHRENOLOGY 


CHAPTER  II. 

RECTIFICATION  OF  PARTICULAR  VIEWS  OF  PHILOSOPHERS. 

In  order  to  prosecute  advantageously  the  study  of  the  men- 
tal functions,  a  capital  error  must  be  avoided, — an  error 
which  prevails  in  the  systems  of  all  philosophers,  and  which 
consists  in  their  having  been  satisfied  with  general  ideas,  and 
not,  like  naturalists,  having  admitted  three  sorts  of  notions: 
general,  common,  and  special.  This  distinction  is  essential 
to  the  classification  of  beings  into  kingdoms,  classes,  orders, 
genera,  and  species.  In  knowing  the  general  qualities  of 
inanimate  objects,  such  as  extension,  configuration,  consist- 
ency, color, — even  in  knowing  the  common  qualities  of  metals, 
earths,  or  acids;  we  are  not  yet  made  acquainted  with  iron, 
copper,  chalk,  or  vinegar.  To  indicate  a  determinate  body, 
its  specific  qualities  must  be  exposed.  In  natural  history 
it  is  not  sufficient  to  say  that  we  possess  a  stone,  a  plant,  an 
animal,  a  bird,  &c.,  it  is  indispensable  to  mention  the  species 
of  each  possessed,  and  if  varieties  exist,  to  state  even  their 
distinctive  characters. 

In  the  study  of  the  human  body,  general  and  common 
notions  are  also  distinguished  and  separated  from  those 
which  are  particular ;  the  body  is  divided  into  several  systems, 
such  as  the  muscular,  osseous,  nervous,  glandular,  &c. ;  deter- 
minate functions,  too,  are  specified,  as  the  secretion  of  saliva, 
of  bile,  tears,  &c.  But  this  distinction  between  general,  com- 
mon, and  special  notions  is  entirely  neglected  in  the  study 
of  the  mind,  and  even  in  that  of  the  functions  which  in 
animals  take  place  with  consciousness. 

Instinct, 

Zoologists  divide  and  subdivide  the  organization  of  the  be- 
ings they  study,  and  determine  the  structure  of  each  particu- 
larly, but  they  consider  their  animal  life  in  a  manner  quite 
general.  Whatever  is  done  with  consciousness  is  explained 
by  means  of  the  word  instinct.  Animals  eat  and  drink,  and 
construct  habitations  by  instinct;  the  nightingale  sings,  the 
swallow  migrates,  the  hamster  makes  provision  for  the  win- 


RECTIFICATION 


373 


ter,  the  chamois  places  sentinels,  sheep  live  in  society,  &c., 
and  all  by  instinct.  This  is  certainly  a  very  easy  manner  of 
explaining  facts ;  instinct  is  the  talisman  which  produces  every 
variety  in  the  actions  of  animals.  The  knowledge  conveyed, 
however,  is  general,  and  therefore  completely  vague.  What 
is  instinct  ?  Is  it  a  personified  being,  an  entity,  a  principle  ? 
or  does  the  word,  according  to  its  Latin  etymology,  signify 
only  an  internal  impulse  to  act  in  a  certain  way  in  ignorance 
of  the  cause  ?  I  take  it  in  the  latter  signification ;  thus  the 
word  instinct  denotes  every  inclination  to  act  arising  from 
within. 

Instincts,  moreover,  are  merely  effects,  and  do  not  express 
peculiar  causes  producing  determinate  inclinations.  In  stat- 
ing that  one  animal  sings  and  that  another  migrates,  we 
specify  some  sorts  of  instincts,  but  leave  their  individual 
causes  undetermined.  The  term  instinct  may  be  compared 
with  that  of  motion.  Planets  revolve  round  the  sun ;  the 
moon  round  the  earth;  the  magnetic  needle  points  towards 
the  north;  rivers  fall  into  the  ocean;  animals  walk,  run,  or 
fly;  the  blood  circulates;  and  all  these  phenomena  are  con- 
joined with  the  idea  of  motion.  Motion  certainly  attends 
on  all,  just  as  the  actions  of  animals  are  always  joined  with 
instinct,  but  the  causes  of  the  various  motions  and  of  the 
different  instincts  are  not  alike,  and  must,  therefore,  be 
looked  for  and  specified. 

Finally,  it  is  an  error  to  say  that  animals  act  solely  by 
instinct.  It  is  true  that  some  of  their  doings,  such  as  the 
labors  of  insects,  are  the  result  of  mere  instinctive  powers, 
but  many  animals  modify  their  actions  according  to  external 
circumstances ;  they  even  select  one  among  different  motives, 
and  often  resist  their  internal  impulsions  or  instincts.  A 
dog  may  be  hungry,  but  with  the  opportunity  he  will  not  eat, 
because  he  remembers  the  blows  which  he  has  received  for 
having  done  so  under  similar  circumstances.  If,  in  follow- 
ing his  master,  he  is  separated  from  him  by  a  carriage,  he 
does  not  throw  himself  under  the  feet  of  the  horses  or  its 
wheels,  but  waits  till  it  has  passed,  and  then  by  increasing 
his  speed  he  overtakes  his  master. 


374 


PHRENOLOGY 


^  This  shows  that  some  animals  act  with  understanding.  On 
the  other  hand,  though  new-born  children  cry,  and  suck  the 
finger,  they  certainly  do  not  act  from  understanding.  And, 
if  men  of  great  genius  manifest  talents  without  knowing 
that  such  faculties  exist;  if  they  calculate,  sing,  or  draw, 
without  any  previous  education,  do  they  not  do  so  by  some 
internal  impulse  or  instinct,  as  well  as  the  animals  which 
sing,  build,  migrate,  and  gather  provisions  ?  Instinct,  then, 
is  not  confined  to  animals,  and  understanding  is  not  a 
prerogative  of  mankind. 

The  above  reflections  on  instinct  elucidate  the  ideas  enter- 
tained by  philosophers  generally  in  regard  to  the  mind  and 
its  faculties.    Many  of  them  reduce  all  the  mind's  operations 
^  to  sensation,  and  all  its  faculties  to  sensibility ;  others  call  this 
general  faculty  understanding,  or  intellect. 

Understandiiig. 

We  must  make  reflections  on  understanding  similar  to 
those  already  made  on  instinct.  There  are,  in  the  first  place, 
different  sorts  of  understanding,  which  may  exist  independent 
of  each  other.  Great  painters  cannot  always  become  great 
musicians;  profound  mathematicians  may  be  without  any 
talent  for  poetry;  and  excellent  generals  may  be  miserable 
legislators.  Hence,  in  the  study  of  man,  it  is  necessary  to 
specify  the  different  kinds  of  understanding  or  sensation. 
For,  if  we  say,  with  Destutt  de  Tracy,  that  memory,  judg- 
ment, and  imagination,  are  only  modifications  of  sensation 
and  the  effects  of  unknown  causes,  it  is  still  necessary  to 
specify  the  kinds  of  sensation;  since  sensations  of  hunger, 
friendship,  hatred,  anger,  or  comparison,  and  knowledge  of 
forms,  colors,  localities,  &c.,  cannot  be  of  one  and  the  same 
sort,  any  more  than  the  senses  of  feeling,  smelling,  tasting, 
hearing,  and  seeing.  Thus,  then,  it  is  necessary  to  specify 
the  various  internal,  as  well  as  the  external  senses. 

Moreover,  the  causes  of  the  different  kinds  of  understand- 
ing must  also  be  pointed  out,  and  new  observations  in  conse- 
quence become  necessary.  Finally,  I  repeat,  that  man  does 
not  always  act  with  understanding.    Suddenly  threatened 


RECTIFICATION 


375 


bv  any  danger,  the  limbs  are  drawn  back  before  tbere  has 
been  time  to  think  of  the  means  of  escape.  All  the  gestures 
and  peculiar  sounds  which  accompany  the  rather  energetic 
expression  of  the  sentiments,  are  as  involuntary  as  the  feel- 
ings themselves,  and  by  no  means  the  effect  of  understanding. 
Who  can  say  that  he  always  acts  with  understanding  ?  We 
too  often  choose  the  worse  even  in  knowing  the  better. 

The  greater  number  of  philosophers  explain  the  actions  of 
man  upon  the  supposition  of  two  fundamental  powers:  un- 
derstanding and  will.  They,  however,  merit  the  same  re- 
proach as  the  zoologists  who  consider  the  actions  of  animals 
as  effects  of  instinct,  and  those  of  man  as  effects  of  under- 
standing alone.  They  attach  themselves  to  generalities,  and 
neglect  particulars ;  they  ought,  however,  to  specify  the  kinds 
of  will  as  well  as  those  of  understanding.  For  it  cannot  be 
the  same  faculty  which  makes  us  love  ourselves  and  our 
neighbors,  which  is  fond  of  destroying  and  of  preserving, 
which  feels  self-esteem  or  seeks  others'  approbation.  More- 
over, the  causes  of  the  different  kinds  of  love  and  of  will, 
which  are  taken  at  one  time  in  a  good,  at  another  in  a  bad 
acceptation,  must  be  laid  open. 

Many  philosophers  who  consider  understanding  and  will 
as  the  fundamental  powers  of  the  mind,  have  conceived 
particular  modes  of  action  in  each  of  them.  In  understand- 
ing they  admit  perception,  conception,  memory,  judgment, 
imagination,  and  attention, — one  of  the  most  important  of 
these  modified  operations ;  to  the  will  they  ascribe  sensuality, 
selfishness,  vanity,  ambition,  and  the  love  of  arts  and 
sciences,  in  proportion  as  understanding  is  enlightened  and 
external  circumstances  modified. 

All  philosophical  considerations  on  the  mind  hitherto 
entertained  have  been  general;  and  whilst  the  study  of  the 
understanding  has  especially  engaged  one  class  of  thinkers, 
another  has  devoted  itself  to  that  of  the  will,  principally  as 
embracing  the  doctrine  of  our  duties.  The  proceeding  of 
either  was  fallacious.  They  have  always  taken  effects  for 
causes,  and  confounded  modes  of  action,  in  quantity  or  qual-  / 
ity,  with  fundamental  faculties.    They  have  also  overlooked 


376 


PHRENOLOGY 


one  of  the  most  important  conditions  to  the  exhibition  of 
affective  and  intellectual  powers,  viz.  the  organization  of  the 
brain.  They  considered  the  functions  of  the  external  senses 
in  connection  with  organization,  but  were  not  aware  that  all 
phenomena  of  mind  are  subject  to  the  same  condition. 

The  first  of  these  classes  of  philosophers  is  styled  Ideolo- 
gists, the  second  Moralists.  This  separation,  and  the  conse- 
quent destruction  of  that  harmony  which  ought  to  reign  be- 
tween the  two,  are  to  be  lamented.  Idealogists  and  moralists 
differ  not  only  in  their  pursuits,  but  each  criminates  the  other, 
and  endeavors  to  confine  him  within  certain  limits.  Idealo- 
gists deride  the  studies  of  Moralists,  and  these  often  decry 
Idealogists  as  the  greatest  enemies  of  mankind. 

Many  ponderous  volumes  are  filled  with  their  several  opin- 
ions. I  shall  only  consider,  in  a  summary  way,  the  most 
striking  of  their  particular  views,  and  begin  with  those  of 
Idealogists. 

I.    Consciousness  and  Sensation. 

Speculative  philosophers  incessantly  speak  of  single  con- 
sciousness and  of  there  being  nothing  but  consciousness  and 
sensation  in  animal  life.  Dr.  Reid  and  others  consider  con- 
sciousness as  a  separate  faculty,  and  Condillac  reduced  all 
phenomena  of  mind  to  sensation,  so  that  his  philosophy  is 
to  mind  what  alchymy  was  to  matter,  ^^'ow  though  it  be  true, 
in  a  general  way,  that  all  operations  of  the  mind  are  accom- 
panied with  consciousness,  it  by  no  means  follows  that  con- 
sciousness of  the  impressions  is  one  of  its  fundamental  facul- 
ties. Consciousness  is  a  general  term,  and  is  an  effect  of 
the  activity  of  one  or  several  mental  faculties.  It  is  identic 
with  mind  and  exists  in  all  its  operations:  in  perception, 
attention,  memory,  judgment,  imagination,  association,  sym- 
pathy, antipathy,  pleasure,  pain,  in  affections  and  passions. 
Mind  cannot  be  thought  of  without  consciousness.  There  are 
various  kinds  of  consciousness,  which  are  the  special  faculties 
of  the  mind,  which  may  be  possessed  separately  or  conjointly, 
and  which  must  be  specified  by  philosophy. 


RECTIFICATION 


377 


II.  Perception. 

Two  important  questions  present  themselves :  first,  whether 
all  the  impressions  which  produce  consciousness  or  sensation, 
come  from  without,  through  the  external  senses;  and  sec- 
ondly, whether  all  fundamental  powers  of  the  mind  are  per- 
ceptive, or  have  consciousness  of  their  peculiar  and  respective 
impressions,  or  w^hether  some  of  them  procure  impressions, 
the  consciousness  of  which  is  only  obtained  by  the  medium 
of  other  faculties  ? 

The  majority  of  modern  philosophers  have  investigated 
the  perceptions  of  external  impressions  only,  which  they  con- 
sider as  the  first  and  single  cause  of  every  varied  mental 
function.  The  mind,  say  they,  is  excited  by  external  im- 
pressions, and  then  performs  various  intellectual  or  volun- 
tary acts.  Some  thinkers,  however,  have  recognised  many 
perceptions  as  dependent  on  merely  internal  impressions. 
Of  this  kind  are  the  instinctive  dispositions  of  animals,  and 
all  the  affective  powers  of  man.  Those  who  would  consider 
this  subject  in  detail,  may  examine,  in  the  first  part  of 
Phrenology,  my  ideas  on  the  external  senses  and  on  the 
affective  faculties.  There  it  will  be  seen  that  I  admit  two 
sources  of  mental  activity;  one  external  and  the  other 
Intern al 

An  answer  to  the  second  question  is  given  with  more  diffi- 
culty than  to  the  first.  Dr.  Reid  with  some  of  his  predeces- 
sors, distinguished  between  sensation  and  perception.  He 
understood  by  the  former  tlie  consciousness  of  the  mind  which 
immediately  follows  the  impression  of  an  external  body  on 
any  of  our  senses ;  and  by  perception  the  reference  of  the  sen- 
sation to  its  external  corporal  cause.  Certain  particles  of 
odorous  matter  act  on  the  olfactory  nerve  and  produce  a 
peculiar  sensation.  When  this  peculiar  sensation  is  referred 
to  an  object,  for  instance  a  rose,  then  it  is  perception.  Gall 
thinks  that  each  external  sense  and  each  internal  faculty  . 
has  its  peculiar  consciousness,  perception,  memory,  judgment, 
and  imagination ;  in  short,  that  the  modes  of  action  are  alike 
in  each  external  sense  and  in  each  organ  of  the  brain.  To 


378 


PHRENOLOGY 


me,  however,  the  individual  faculties  of  the  mind  do  not 
seem  to  have  the  same  modes  of  action;  I  conceive  that  the 
functions  of  several  faculties  are  confined  to  the  procuring 
of  impressions  which  are  perceived  by  other  faculties.  The 
instinct  of  alimentativeness  and  all  the  fundamental  facul- 
ties, which  I  call  affective,  seem  destined  only  to  produce 
impressions,  which  accompanied  with  consciousness  are  called 
inclinations,  wants,  or  sentiments.  The  affective  functions 
are  blind  and  involuntary,  and  have  no  knowledge  of  the 
objects  respectively  suited  to  satisfy  their  activity;  the 
nerves  of  hunger  do  not  know  aliments ;  nor  circumspection, 
the  object  of  fear;  nor  veneration,  the  object  deserving  its 
application,  &c.  &c.  Even  supposing  the  affective  powers 
had  an  obscure  consciousness  of  their  own  existence,  a  point 
which,  by-the-bye,  is  not  proved,  it  is  still  certain  that  the 
intellectual  faculties  alone  procure  clear  consciousness.  The 
internal  senses  of  individuality  and  eventuality,  combined 
with  those  of  comparison  and  causality,  determine  the  species 
of  both  internal  and  external  perceptions.  As  it  is,  however, 
much  more  difficult  to  specify  the  internal  than  the  external 
sensations,  the  species  of  the  former  have  remained  almost 
entirely  unknown  to  philosophers. 

Thus,  perception  is  an  essential  constituent  in  the  nature  of 
the  intellectual  faculties  generally,  and  one  of  their  particular 
modes  of  activity;  yet  it  is  no  special  faculty  of  the  mind; 
it  is  a  mere  effect  of  activity  in  the  perceptive  powers. 

From  the  preceding  considerations,  it  follows  that  in  my 
opinion  every  fundamental  faculty  of  the  mind  is  not  per- 
ceptive, consequently  I  make  a  distinction  between  perceptive 
powers  and  kinds  of  perception.  There  are  as  many  sorts 
of  perceptions  as  fundamental  functions,  but  the  intellectual 
faculties  alone  seem  to  be  perceptive. 

It  is  remarkable  that  consciousness  and  perception  are  not 
always  single,  that  in  the  same  person  they  may  be  healthy 
with  respect  to  some  faculties  and  diseased  with  respect  to 
others.  There  are  also  cases  on  record,  where  persons  sub- 
ject to  nervous  fits,  completely  forget  what  occurs  during 
paroxysms,  when  these  are  over ;  and  remember  perfectly  dur- 


RECTIFICATION 


379 


ing  subsequent  paroxysms,  what  has  happened  during  preced- 
ing fits.  The  same  phenomenon  is  related  of  the  state  of  per- 
sons under  the  influence  of  animal  magnetism.  Mr.  Combe 
mentions  the  fact  observed  by  Dr.  Abel  in  an  Irish  porter 
to  a  warehouse,  who  forgot  when  sober,  what  he  had  done 
when  drunk,  but  who,  being  drunk  again,  recollected  the 
transactions  of  his  former  state  of  intoxication.  On  one 
occasion,  being  drunk,  he  had  lost  a  parcel  of  some  value, 
and  in  his  sober  moments  could  give  no  account  of  it.  l^ext 
time  he  was  intoxicated  he  recollected  that  he  had  left  the 
parcel  at  a  certain  house,  and  there  being  no  address  on  it, 
it  had  remained  there  safely  and  was  got  on  his  calling  for 
it.  It  seems  that,  before  recollection  can  exist,  the  organs 
require  to  be  in  the  same  state  they  were  in  when  the 
impression  was  first  received. 

III.  Attention. 

Almost  all  philosophers  speak  of  sensation  as  a  primitive 
power  of  the  mind,  active  throughout  all  its  operations,  and 
the  basis  on  which  observation  and  reflection  repose.  ^  It  is 
attention,'  says  Helvetius,*  ^  more  or  less  active,  which  fixes 
objects  more  or  less  in  the  memory.'  According  to  Vicq 
d'Azyr,  apes  and  monkeys  are  turbulent,  because  they  have 
no  attention.  Dr.  Reid  f  makes  a  distinction  between  atten- 
tion and  consciousness,  calling  the  first  a  voluntary,  the  sec- 
ond an  involuntary  act ;  whilst  other  philosophers,  with  Locke, 
confound  these  two  mental  phenomena.  Dr.  Brown  con- 
founds attention  with  desire;  he  thinks  that  without  desire 
there  can  be  no  attention. 

To  all  that  has  been  said  upon  attention  as  a  faculty  of  the 
mind,  I  reply,  that  attention,  in  none  of  its  acceptations,  is  a 
single  faculty;  for  if  it  were,  he  who  possesses  it  in  a  par- 
ticular sense  should  be  able  to  apply  it  universally.  But 
how  does  it  happen  that  an  individual,  animal  or  man,  pays 
great  attention  to  one  object,  and  very  little  or  none  to  an- 

*  De  ] 'esprit,  ch.  de  I'ineijale  capacite  de  I'attention. 
f  Essays  on  the  Intellectual  Powers  of  Man,  p.  60. 


380 


PHRENOLOGY 


other?  Sheep  never  attend  to  philosophy  or  theology;  and 
while  the  squirrel  and  ringdove  see  a  hare  pass  with  indiffer- 
ence, the  fox  and  eagle  eye  it  with  attention.  The  instinct 
to  live  on  plants  or  flesh  produces  unlike  sorts  of  attention. 
In  the  human  kind,  individuals  are  influenced  in  their  atten- 
tion to  different  objects,  even  by  sex  and  age:  little  girls 
prefer  dolls,  ribands,  &c.,  as  playthings;  boys  like  horses, 
whips,  and  drums.  One  man  is  pleased  with  philosophic 
discussion,  another  with  witty  conversation;  one  with  the 
recital  of  events  which  touch  the  heart,  and  another  with 
accounts  of  sanguinary  battles,  and  so  on. 

The  word  attention  denotes  no  more  than  the  active  state 
of  any  intellectual  faculty ;  or,  in  other  terms,  attention  is  the 
effect  of  the  intellectual  faculties,  acting  either  from  their 
proper  force,  or  from  being  excited  by  external  impressions, 
or  by  one  or  several  affective  faculties.  Hence  there  are  as 
many  species  of  attention  as  fundamental  faculties  of  the 
mind.  He  who  has  an  active  faculty  of  configuration,  of 
locality,  or  of  coloring,  pays  attention  to  the  objects  respec- 
tively suited  to  gratify  it.  In  this  manner  we  conceive  why 
attention  is  so  different,  and  also  why  it  is  impossible  to  suc- 
ceed in  any  pursuit  or  undertaking  v^dthout  attention.  It 
is,  indeed,  absurd  to  expect  success  in  an  art  or  science,  when 
the  individual  power  on  which  its  comprehension  depends  is 
inactive.  Again,  the  more  active  the  power  is,  the  more  it 
is  attentive.  The  affective  faculties,  though  they  have  no 
clear  consciousness,  yet  excite  the  intellectual  faculties,  and 
thereby  produce  attention.  The  love  of  approbation,  for  in- 
stance, may  stimulate  the  faculty  of  artificial  language ;  boys 
who  are  fond  of  applause  will  be  apt  to  study  with  more 
attention  and  perseverance  than  those  who  are  without  such 
a  motive. 

Thus,  perception  and  attention,  though  both  modes  of 
activity,  may  be  distinguished  from  each  other,  as  perception 
denotes  knowledge  of  the  external  and  internal  impressions 
in  a  passive  manner,  or,  as  perceptivity  or  passive  capability 
of  Kant,  whilst  attention  indicates  the  active  state  of  the 
intellectual  faculties  and  their  application  to  their  respective 
objects,  or  spontaneity,  in  Kant's  language. 


RECTIFICATION 


381 


IV.  Memory. 

Memory  is  another  mental  operation,  which  has,  at  all 
times,  occupied  speculative  philosophers.  Those,  too,  who 
have  written  on  education  have  given  it  much  consideration. 
It  is  treated  of  as  a  faculty  which  collects  the  individual  per- 
ceptions, and  recalls  them  when  wanted ;  and  is  further  con- 
sidered as  being  assisted  by  the  faculties  of  attention  and 
association.  Memory  varies  more  in  its  kind  than  any  other 
of  the  intellectual  faculties  recognised  by  philosophers.  It 
is  notorious  that  some  children  occasionally  learn  long  pas- 
sages of  books  by  heart  with  great  facility,  who  cannot  recol- 
lect the  persons  they  have  seen  before,  nor  the  places  they 
have  visited.  Others,  again,  remember  facts  or  events,  while 
they  cannot  recall  the  dates  at  which  they  happened ;  and,  on 
the  contrary,  this  latter  sort  of  knowledge  gives  great  pleasure 
to  others.  The  Jesuits,  observing  nature,  consequently  ad- 
mitted a  memory  of  facts,  a  local  memory,  a  verbal  memory, 
and  so  on.  Even  the  causes  of  these  differences  in  memory 
were  looked  for.  Malebranche  supposed  some  peculiar  and 
modified  state  of  the  cerebral  organization  to  explain  the 
facts,  such  as  softness  and  flexibility  of  the  cerebral  fibres 
in  youth,  their  hardness  and  stiffness  in  old  age,  &c. 

Is  memory,  then,  a  fundamental  power  of  the  mind  ?  Gall 
thinks  not;  he  considers  it  as  the  second  degree  of  activity 
of  every  organ  and  faculty;  and  therefore  admits  as  many 
memories  as  fundamental  faculties. 

My  opinion  also  is,  that  memory  is  not  a  fundamental 
faculty,  but  the  repetition  of  some  previous  perception,  and  a 
quantitive  mode  of  action.  The  question  arises  whether 
memory  takes  place  among  both  the  affective  and  intellectual 
faculties.  It  is  true  the  affective  powers  act  without  clear 
consciousness,  and  the  mind  cannot  call  up  into  fresh  exist- 
ence the  perceptions  experienced  from  the  propensities  and 
sentiments  with  the  same  facility  as  the  perceptions  of  the 
intellectual  powers ;  yet  it  renews  them  more  or  less,  and  con- 
sequently, I  cannot  confine  the  mode  of  action  under  discus- 
sion to  the  intellectual  faculties.    However,  I  distinguish 


382 


PHRENOLOGY 


between  the  faculties  which  have  clear  memory  and  the  species 
of  notions  remembered:  the  perceptive  faculties  alone  have 
clear  memory,  and  all  kinds  of  perceptions  are  remembered. 
Further,  as  the  intellectual  faculties  do  not  all  act  with  the 
same  energy,  memory  necessarily  varies  in  kind  and  strength 
in  each  and  in  every  individual.  'No  one  therefore  has  an 
equally  strong  memory  for  every  branch  of  knowledge.  At- 
tention too,  being  another  name  for  activity  of  the  intellectual 
faculties  applied  to  their  respective  objects,  naturally 
strengthens  memory:  viz.  it  facilitates  repetition.  Exercise 
of  the  faculties,  it  is  further  evident,  must  invigorate  mem- 
ory, that  is,  repetition  is  made  more  easy.  Let  us  now  see 
the  difference  between  memory  and 

V.    Reminiscence  or  remembrance. 

We  have  reminiscence,  if  we  remember  how  certain  percep- 
tions have  been  acquired,  while  memory  consists  in  the  perfect 
reproduction  of  former  perceptions.  Reminiscence  is  often 
taken  for  a  fundamental  faculty  of  the  mind;  sometimes, 
also,  it  is  considered  as  a  modification  of  memory. 

I  neither  consider  reminiscence  as  a  fundamental  faculty, 
nor  as  a  modification  of  memory,  but  as  the  peculiar  memory 
or  repetition  of  the  functions  of  eventuality,  that  faculty 
which  takes  cognizance  of  the  functions  of  all  the  others. 

This  view  shows  how  we  may  have  reminiscence,  but  no 
memory  of  the  functions  of  our  affective  faculties.  And 
also,  how  we  may  remember  having  had  a  sensation  which 
we  cannot  reproduce,  and  repeat  a  perception  without  re- 
membering how  it  had  been  acquired.  Thus  we  may  recol- 
lect that  we  know  the  name  of  a  person  without  being  able 
to  utter  it,  and  also  repeat  a  song  without  remembering  where 
we  learned  it.  The  special  intellectual  faculties,  in  general, 
repeat  their  individual  perceptions  and  produce  memory, 
while  that  of  eventuality,  in  particular,  recollects,  or  has 
reminiscence.  Eeminiscence,  then,  is  to  eventuality  that 
which  each  kind  of  memory  is  to  the  other  intellectual 
faculties. 


RECTIFICATION 


383 


VI.  Imagination. 

This  expression  has  several  significations:  it  is  employed 
to  indicate  at  one  time  a  fundamental  power,  called  also  the 
faculty  of  invention,  and  in  this  sense  it  is  said  to  invent 
machinery,  to  compose  music  and  poetry,  and  in  general  to 
produce  every  new  conception.  Imagination,  again,  is  some- 
times taken  for  the  faculty  of  recalling  previously-acquired 
notions  of  objects.  This  signification  even  corresponds  to 
the  etymology  of  the  word:  the  images  exist  interiorly.  At 
another  time  imagination  indicates  a  lively  manner  of  feeling 
and  acting.  Imagination,  in  fine,  is  a  title  given  to  facility 
of  combining  previous  perceptions,  and  of  producing  new 
compositions. 

To  the  preceding  considerations  I  answer,  that  imagination 
is  in  no  case  a  fundamental  faculty.  There  can  be  no  single 
faculty  of  invention,  or  else  he  who  displays  it  in  one  ought 
to  show  it  in  all  arts  and  sciences.  And  it  is  notorious  that 
powers  of  invention  are  very  different  in  the  same  as  well  as 
in  different  persons.  A  mechanician  who  invents  machines 
of  stupendous  powers,  may  be  almost  without  musical  talent, 
and  a  great  geometrician  may  be  perfectly  insensible  to  the 
harmony  of  tones ;  whilst  the  poet  who  can  describe  the  most 
pathetic  situations  and  arouse  the  feelings  powerfully,  may 
be  quite  incapable  of  inventing  mathematical  problems. 
Man,  it  is  certain,  can  only  invent,  or  perfect,  according 
to  the  sphere  of  activity  of  the  peculiar  faculties  he  possesses ; 
and  therefore  there  can  be  no  fundamental  power  of  inven- 
tion. Each  primitive  faculty  has  its  laws,  and  he  who  is 
particularly  endowed  in  a  high  degree,  often  finds  effects 
unknown  before;  and  this  is  called  invention.  Imagination 
is,  consequently,  no  more  than  a  quantitative  mode  of  action 
of  the  primitive  faculties,  combined  particularly  with  those 
of  causality  and  comparison.  Inventions  are,  probably, 
never  made  by  individual  faculties;  several  commonly  act 
together  in  establishing  the  necessary  relations  between  effects 
and  causes. 

The  fundamental  faculties  sometimes  act  spontaneously, 


384 


PHRENOLOGY 


or  by  their  internal  power,  and  this  degree  of  activity  is  then 
called  imagination  also.  In  this  sense  imagination  is  as 
various  in  its  kinds  as  the  primitive  faculties.  Birds  build 
their  nests,  or  sing,  without  having  been  taught,  and  men 
of  great  minds  do  acts  which  they  had  never  either  seen  or 
heard  of.  In  calling  the  degree  of  activity  of  the  faculties 
which  produces  these  effects  imagination,  it  is  still  a  mere 
result  of  existing  individual  powers.  All  that  has  been  said 
of  imagination,  as  the  faculty  of  recalling  impressions,  is 
referable  to  the  mode  of  action  styled  memory  of  the 
intellectual  faculties,  and  is  not  an  effect  of  any  single  power. 

Finally,  imagination,  used  synonymously  with  exaltation, 
or  poetic  fire,  results  from  activity  of  the  fundamental  faculty 
which  I  call  ideality,  and  to  the  consideration  of  which  mental 
power  in  Part  I.  of  Phrenology,  I  refer  my  reader  for  farther 
information. 

From  the  preceding  reflections  on  perception,  attention, 
memory,  and  imagination,  it  follows,  that  they  are  quantitive 
modes  of  action  of  the  fundamental  faculties,  each  of  which 
may  act  spontaneously,  or  be  roused  by  external  impressions. 
The  intellectual  faculties  alone  perceive  or  know  impressions, 
and  being  directed  towards  the  objects  of  which  respectively 
they  have  cognizance,  produce  attention;  repeating  notions 
already  perceived,  they  exert  memory;  and  being  so  active 
as  to  cause  effects  as  yet  unknown,  they  may  be  said  to  elicit 
imagination. 

YII.  Judgment. 

J udgment  is  commonly  believed  to  be  a  fundamental  power 
of  the  mind.  It  is  said  to  have  been  given  to  counterbalance 
imagination  and  the  passions,  and  to  rectify  the  errors 
of  intellect.  Memory  and  judgment  are  sometimes  also 
maintained  to  exclude  each  other,  but  experience  shows  this 
opinion  to  be  erroneous,  for  some  persons  possess  excellent 
memory  as  well  as  great  judgment.  These  two  kinds  of 
manifestations,  however,  may  also  exist  separately;  and  the 
conclusion  then  follows,  that  they  are  neither  the  same  faculty 
nor  the  same  mode  of  action.  Let  us  first  see  whether 
judgment  may  be  a  fundamental  power  or  not. 


RECTIFICATION 


385 


Gall,  observing  that  the  same  person  may  possess  excellent 
judgment  of  one  kind,  and  have  little  or  none  of  another,  that 
a  great  judge  of  mathematics,  for  instance,  may  have  almost 
no  capacity  to  judge  of  colors  or  of  tones,  considers  judgment 
as  the  third  degree  of  activity  of  every  fundamental  faculty ; 
and  admitting  as  many  kinds  of  judgment  as  special  faculties, 
denies  it  the  prerogative  of  being  looked  on  as  a  primitive 
power.  In  his  opinion,  every  fundamental  faculty  has  four 
degrees  of  activity:  the  first  is  perception;  the  second, 
memory;  the  third,  judgment;  and  the  fourth,  imagination. 

I,  myself,  neither  consider  judgment  as  a  fundamental 
faculty,  nor  with  Gall,  as  a  degree  of  activity,  or  as  a  mode 
of  action  to  every  faculty.  J udgment  cannot  be  a  quantitive 
mode,  and  certainly  not  the  third  in  degree,  for  some  indi- 
viduals judge  very  accurately  of  impressions  as  soon  as  per- 
ceived, without  possessing  the  memory  of  them  to  a  great 
extent;  and  others,  with  an  excellent  memory  of  particular 
kinds  of  impressions,  judge  very  indifferently  of  the  same. 
It  even  happens  that  certain  faculties  are  in  the  highest  de- 
gree, or  spontaneously,  active,  while  the  judgment  in  relation 
to  these  very  powers  is  bad.  In  other  cases,  the  faculties  are 
exceedingly  active,  and  also  judge  with  perfect  propriety. 
Moreover,  judgment  cannot  be  an  attribute  of  every  funda- 
mental faculty  of  the  mind,  since  the  affective  powers,  being 
blind,  neither  recollect  nor  judge  their  actions.  What  judg- 
ments have  physical  love,  pride,  circumspection,  and  all  the 
other  feelings?  They  require  to  be  enlightened  by  the  un- 
derstanding, or  intellectual  faculties;  and  on  this  account 
it  is,  that  when  left  to  themselves  they  occasion  so  many 
disorders.  And  not  only  does  this  remark  apply  to  the  in- 
ferior but  also  to  the  superior  affective  powers ;  to  hope  and 
veneration,  as  well  as  to  the  love  of  approbation  and  circum- 
spection; we  may  fear  things  innocent  or  noxious,  and 
venerate  idols  as  well  as  the  God  of  the  true  Christian. 

I  conceive,  then,  that  judgment  is  a  mode  of  action  of  the 
intellectual  faculties  only;  and  not  a  mode  of  quantity  but 
of  quality.  The  better  to  understand  my  meaning,  let  us 
observe,  that  there  is  a  relation  between  external  objects 

25 


386 


PHRENOLOGY 


themselves,  and  also  between  external  objects  and  the  affective 
and  intellectual  faculties  of  man  and  animals.  These  rela- 
tions are  even  determinate,  and  in  their  essence  invariable; 
they  admit  modifications  only.  Hunger  and  aliment,  this 
and  digestion  have  a  mutual  relation.  'Now,  if  these  rela- 
tions are  seen  to  be  perfect  and  to  exist  as  they  are  usually 
found,  we  say  the  function  is  good  or  healthy.  If  the  sense 
of  taste  approve  of  aliments  which  man  commonly  employs 
and  digests,  the  taste  is  good  and  perfect;  but  there  is  dis- 
order or  aberration  whenever  the  functions  depart  from  their 
ordinary  modes  of  manifesting  themeslves;  if,  for  instance, 
the  taste  select  articles  generally  esteemed  filthy  or  unfit  for 
food,  such  as  chalk,  charcoal,  tallow,  &c.  it  is  disordered  or 
bad. 

The  intellectual  faculties  are  in  relation  with  the  affective 
powers  and  with  external  objects,  and  their  functions  are 
subject  to  determinate  laws.  The  faculties  of  coloring  and 
of  melody  cannot  arbitrarily  be  pleased,  the  one  with  every 
disposition  of  colors,  and  the  other  with  every  combination 
of  tones.  "Now,  the  functions  of  the  intellectual  faculties 
may  be  perfect  or  imperfect,  that  is,  be  in  harmony,  or  the 
contrary,  with  their  innate  laws,  and  the  product  of  these  two 
states  announced  is  judgment;  for  the  intellectual  faculties 
alone  know  their  own  and  the  relations  of  the  affective  powers 
with  the  external  world.  The  expression  judgment,  however, 
it  must  be  observed,  is  used  to  indicate  as  well  the  power 
of  perceiving  the  relations  that  subsist  between  impressions 
themselves,  as  the  manner  in  which  this  power  is  affected  by 
these.  We  distinguish  different  savors  from  each  other,  and 
we  feel  the  different  impressions  they  make.  In  both  these 
operations  we  judge.  The  same  thing  holds  in  regard  to  all 
the  perceptive  faculties:  they  perceive  the  relations  of  their 
appropriate  and  peculiar  impressions,  and  recognise  the  effect 
this  act  of  perception  produces.  The  faculty  of  coloring, 
for  instance,  perceives  several  colors,  and  is  then  affected 
agreeably  or  disagreeably;  in  consequence,  it  approves  or 
disapproves  of  their  arrangement.  The  perception  of  any 
relation  whatever  is  the  essence  of  judgment. 


RECTIFICATION 


387 


The  judgment  of  the  faculties  which  perceives  the  physical 
qualities  of  external  objects,  even  of  tones  or  melody,  is  also 
called  taste.  We  are  said  to  have  a  good  or  a  bad  taste,  or 
judgment,  in  coloring,  drawing,  and  music,  in  speaking  of 
forms,  proportions,  &c. 

Each  perceptive  faculty  feels  impressions  and  relations  of 
one  kind  only;  that  of  configuration  knows  forms;  that  of 
coloring  colors;  and  that  of  tune  tones.  The  judgment,  or 
the  more  or  less  healthy  action  of  each,  is  in  like  manner 
confined  to  its  special  function.  There  are  consequently  as 
many  kinds  of  judgment  as  perceptive  faculties,  and  one  kind 
must  not  be  confounded  with  another.  The  regular  and 
perfect  manifestation  of  the  functions  of  the  two  reflective 
powers,  however,  examining  the  relations  of  all  the  intellect- 
ual and  affective  faculties  to  their  respective  objects,  and  the 
relations  of  the  various  powers  among  themselves,  particu- 
larly deserves  the  name  judgment;  it  essentially  constitutes 
the  philosophic  judgment,  which  is  applicable  to  every  sort 
of  notion.  It  is  synonymous  with  reasoning.  Comparison 
and  causality  being  the  highest  intellectual  powers,  and  an 
essential  and  necessary  part  of  a  reasonable  being;  their  per- 
fect action  or  good  judgment  consequently  ranks  above  all 
other  kinds  of  judgment.  However,  reason  or  the  reflective 
faculties  in  themselves  are  not  infallible;  they  may  be 
deceived  by  the  erroneous  notions  and  feelings  on  which  they 
operate.  Sound  and  true  reasoning  requires  two  things ; 
first,  sound  reflective  faculties ;  and  second,  exact  notions  and 
just  feelings,  viz.  sound  premises. 

VIII.  Association. 

Several  philosophers  in  Oreat  Britain,  and  especially 
Dugald  Stewart,  have  lately  spoken  much  of  a  peculiar 
faculty  of  association.  They  have  examined  the  laws  of  its 
activity,  and  ascribed  to  it  a  great  influence  on  our  manner 
of  thinking  and  feeling ;  they  have  even  considered  it  as  the 
cause  of  the  sublime  and  beautiful. 

These  propositions  I  conceive  are  erroneous;  association, 
in  my  opinion,  being  only  an  effect  of  the  mutual  influence 


388 


PHRENOLOGY 


of  the  fundamental  faculties.  One  being  active,  excites  an- 
other, or  several,  and  the  phenomenon  is  association;  which, 
occurs  not  only  among  the  intellectual  faculties,  when  what 
is  called  association  of  ideas  results,  but  also  among  the 
affective  and  intellectual  together;  and,  indeed,  among  all 
the  fundamental  faculties.  The  sight  of  a  rose  may  recall 
one  we  love;  ambition  may  excite  courage,  or  an  intellectual 
faculty ;  artificial  signs  may  arouse  the  perceptive  faculties ; 
and  these,  in  their  turn,  make  us  remember  arbitrary  signs. 

Association  is  a  phenomenon  of  some  importance  in  the 
practical  part  of  anthropology;  and  when  I  come  to  speak 
of  the  modifications  of  the  mental  functions,  I  shall  enter 
into  its  consideration  at  some  length. 

The  principles  of  association  are  the  same  as  those  of 
sympathy.  Faculties  whose  organs  are  situated  near  each 
other,  or  which  act  at  the  same  time,  will  readily  excite  one 
another.  Faculties  also,  which  contribute  to  the  same  pecul- 
iar function,  will  be  apt  to  exert  a  mutual  influence.  The 
strongest  of  the  faculties  will  further  excite  and  overwhelm 
the  weaker  with  ease. 

The  mutual  influence  or  association  of  the  fundamental 
faculties  explains  the  principles  of  Mnemonics,  or  the  science 
of  artificial  memory,  and  shows  its  importance.  To  enable 
us  to  recall  ideas  or  words,  we  may  call  in  any  of  our  other 
faculties,  which  acts  with  great  energy,  to  assist.  If  that  of 
locality,  for  instance,  be  vigorous,  ideas  will  be  easily  recol- 
lected through  the  assistance  of  localities ;  that  is,  by  associat- 
ing ideas  with  localities.  Local  memory  will  remember  the 
peculiar  ideas  associated  with  particular  places.  The  same 
means  or  faculties,  however,  it  must  be  understood,  will  not 
serve  in  every  case.  Individuals  must  severally  make  use 
of  their  strongest  to  excite  their  weakest  powers;  one  will 
employ  form,  a  second  color,  a  third  places,  and  others  num- 
bers, analogies  of  sounds,  causes,  and  so  on,  with  success. 

This  consideration  in  its  whole  extent  may  be  kept  in  view 
with  advantage  in  education.  ISlo  intellectual  faculty  is  ever 
to  be  tutored  singly,  but  all  which  are  necessary  to  the  perfect 
understanding  of  a  subject  are  to  be  exercised  together. 


RECTIFICATION 


389 


Geography  will  aid  the  memory  of  events,  and  the  reverse; 
and  so  on  with  the  rest. 

Association  also  elucidates  the  common  saying,  We  think 
in  our  mother  tongue.  The  meaning  of  this  phrase  is  not 
determined;  if  language  be  supposed  primitively  to  pro- 
duce thought,  a  grave  error  is  committed ;  for  we  think  in  no 
language;  the  feelings  and  ideas  existed  before  the  signs 
which  express  them,  and  we  may  have  feelings  and  thoughts 
without  a  term  to  make  them  kno^vn.  Language  is  only 
associated  with  the  feelings  and  thoughts ;  but  as  this  is  done 
very  frequently  and  with  extreme  rapidity,  even  in  conform- 
ity with  the  succession  of  thoughts,  we  are  said  to  think  in 
our  native  language.  The  fact,  however,  is  interesting  in 
itself,  and  proves  the  importance  of  the  mutual  influence  of 
the  faculties.  Several  of  the  modern  languages,  it  is  true, 
have  a  determinate  structure,  and  do  not  admit  of  inversions, 
and  ideas  consequently  follow  regularly  in  a  certain  order, 
but  ideas  are  not  therefore  results  of  the  signs  by  which 
they  are  expressed.  It  is  obvious,  however,  that  the  structure 
of  a  language  must  give  a  peculiar  direction  to  the  mental 
operations;  and  again,  that  the  prevailing  spirit  or  general 
mental  constitution  of  every  nation  may  be  known  by  its 
language.  The  French  directs  the  mind  especially  to  indi- 
vidual objects  and  their  qualities;  the  German,  on  the  con- 
trary, forces  it  to  combine,  at  once,  all  particular  notions. 
^sTotwith standing  these  admitted  effects  of  language,  signs 
must  never  be  confounded  with  ideas,  nor  simultaneous  action 
mistaken  for  identity. 

The  second  idea  which  Mr.  Alison  and  others  entertain 
of  association  as  the  source  of  the  beautiful  and  of  the  pleas- 
ure that  flows  from  it,  is  also  unsupported  by  observation. 
Pleasure  does  not  derive  from  association  only.  Every  fac- 
ulty is  in  relation  to  certain  impressions ;  these,  being  either 
in  harmony  with  it,  or  the  reverse,  produce  pleasure  or  pain. 
The  power  of  configuration  is  pleased  with  certain  forms, 
and  displeased  with  others.  The  faculty  of  coloring  likes 
certain  colors,  and  dislikes  others.  In  the  same  way  impres- 
sions of  tones  are  immediately  pronounced  agreeable  or  dis- 


390 


PHRENOLOGY 


agreeable.  The  perceptive  faculties  are  pleased  by  their 
respective  harmonious  impressions. 

On  the  other  hand  it  is,  however,  certain  that  association 
may  increase  or  diminish  the  absolute  pleasure  or  pain. 
Pleased  with  a  rose  in  itself,  we  may  call  it  beautiful ;  but  the 
pleasure  and  the  beauty  may  still  be  heightened  by  recollec- 
tions of  the  person  who  planted  or  presented  it.  Impres- 
sions, little  agreeable  in  themselves,  may  gain  by  association. 
A  national  air  may  rank  very  low  as  a  musical  composition, 
and  even  offend  a  scientific  ear,  and  yet  delight  him,  the 
scenes  of  whose  boyhood,  and  of  whose  home,  the  remem- 
brances of  whose  relations  and  friends,  it  recalls. 

IX.  Categories, 

Even  those  who  recognise  certain  laws,  or  categories,  ac- 
cording to  which  the  mind  operates,  confine  too  much  their 
considerations  to  general  views.  If  Kant,  in  his  treatise 
on  Experimental  Knowledge,  admits  a  category  of  quality, 
his  conception  is  still  general.  We  know,  it  is  true,  the 
qualities  of  natural  objects,  but  there  are  various  kinds  of 
these,  and  none  of  them  are  either  specified  in  Kant's  phi- 
losophy, or  considered  as  fundamental  faculties  of  the  mind. 

Idealogists  have  therefore  recognised  certain  effects  and 
modes  of  action  of  the  mental  powers,  and  certain  laws  ac- 
cording to  which  the  mind  acts,  but  few  of  the  fundamental 
faculties.  Among  the  categories  of  Aristotle  and  Kant  those 
of  space  and  time,  and  that  of  causality  by  Kant,  are  funda- 
mental faculties  of  Phrenology,  but  the  others  are  mere  modes 
of  action  and  general  conceptions.  The  various  conceptions 
of  philosophers  exist  in  nature,  but  they  are  defective,  and 
need  rectification,  that  is,  the  faculties  and  their  modes  of 
acting  must  be  specified  and  their  existence  demonstrated 
by  observation;  in  this  way  alone  will  philosophy  become 
applicable  to  man  in  his  social  relations. 


RECTIFICATION 


391 


Moralists. 

Man  must  soon  have  felt  that  every  kind  of  mental  opera- 
tion could  not  be  called  intellectual.  Philosophers  have 
accordingly  acknowledged  a  second,  and  a  different  sort, 
which  they  name  Will. 

Living  in  society,  man  is  in  relation  with,  his  parents,  his 
friends,  his  enemies,  with  those  who  are  inferior  or  superior, 
and  by  an  innate  power  he  examines  his  actions  in  a  moral 
point  of  view.  In  conceiving  supernatural  beings,  and  admi1>- 
ting  their  influence  on  his  situation,  he  also  contrived  means 
to  render  himself  agreeable  to  them. 

Those  philosophers,  then,  who  examine  the  moral  conduct 
of  man,  and  its  rules,  viz.  moralists,  are  particularly  inter- 
ested in  the  knowledge,  not  only  of  the  intellectual  faculties 
and  their  modes  of  action,  but  also  of  the  inclinations  and 
sentiments,  of  the  affections  and  passions,  of  the  motives  of 
our  actions,  of  the  aim  of  our  faculties,  and  of  the  means 
of  arriving  at  it.  The  study  of  moralists,  however,  is  not 
more  exact  than  that  of  idealogists.  Like  them,  ignorant  of 
the  fundamental  powers  of  the  mind,  they  confound  modes 
of  action  with  the  faculties  themselves,  disagree  about  the 
origin  of  morality,  its  nature,  and  the  means  of  advancing 
it;  the  philosophic  doctrines  of  the  will,  affections  and 
passions.    I  therefore  begin  with  their  elucidations. 

X.    Desire  and  Will. 

Many  philosophers  understand  by  the  expression  Will^ 
all  sorts  and  all  degrees  of  inclinations,  desires,  and  senti- 
ments. Moralists  commonly  say  that  the  will  alone  is  the 
cause  of  our  actions  and  omissions,  and  even  that  mankind 
is  degraded  by  any  other  explanation  than  this.  The  will 
is  considered  as  an  entity  and  styled  weak  or  strong,  good 
or  bad.  These  terms,  however,  are  vague,  and  require 
consideration. 

In  .  the  common  acceptation  of  the  word,  will  is  no  more 


399 


PHRENOLOGY 


a  fundamental  power  than  the  instinct  of  animals,  it  is  only 
the  effect  of  every  primitive  faculty  of  the  mind,  and  synony- 
mous with  desire;  each  faculty  being  active  produces  an 
inclination,  a  desire,  or  a  kind  of  will;  and  in  this  signifi- 
cation there  are  as  many  species  of  will  as  fundamental 
faculties;  the  strength  of  each,  too,  is  in  proportion  to  the 
activity  of  the  individual  faculties,  and  exists  involuntarily. 
Such  a  sweeping  and  general  acceptation  of  the  term  Will, 
then,  is  evidently  defective. 

That  desire  which  overwhelms  the  others  is  also  called 
Will.  'Now,  in  this  sense,  every  faculty  in  its  turn  may  be- 
come Will.  A  dog,  for  instance,  is  hungry,  but  having  been 
punished  for  eating  the  meat  he  found  upon  the  table,  he, 
without  ceasing  to  feel  appetite,  for  fear  of  a  repetition  of 
the  blows,  does  not  indulge;  he  desires  to  eat,  but  he  will 
not.  Will,  therefore,  in  this  acceptation,  cannot  be  any 
fundamental  power,  it  is  only  an  effect  of  the  most  active 
powers. 

Let  us  here  ask,  whether  man  in  his  healthy  state  of  mind 
is  compelled  by  nature  to  consider  certain  desires  as  superior 
and  others  as  inferior  ?  The  answer  is  affirmative.  I  shall 
detail  tliis  point  later,  in  speaking  of  the  moral  nature  of 
man;  meanwhile  I  adopt  it  as  quite  positive,  and  only  add 
that  the  preference  given  is  founded  on  intelligence  which 
knows  the  different  desires,  and  determines  the  election  which 
is  made.  Now  by  calling  will  the  mental  operation  which 
appreciates  the  value  of  the  desires,  and  chooses  among  them, 
it  is  evident  that  it  depends  on,  and  is  proportionate  to, 
intellect ;  hence,  that  it  is  not  a  fundamental  faculty. 

It  is  of  the  utmost  importance  to  be  aware  that  there  is  no 
moral  will  without  intelligence,  though  this  does  not  con- 
stitute will,  and  that  will  is  no  fundamental  power,  but 
the  effect  of  the  reflective  faculties  applied  to  the  affective 
and  perceptive  powers  of  the  mind. 

Legislation,  in  general,  recognises  intelligence  as  an  in- 
dispensable condition  of  will.  Idiots,  and  the  insane,  there- 
fore, are  not  answerable  for  their  actions.  All  the  affective 
faculties,  indeed,  are  blind,  and  dispose  us  to  act  according 


RECTIFICATION 


393 


to  pleasure,  not  according  to  will,  which  may  frequently 
be  opposed  to  pleasure.  In  conformity,  the  moral  code  of 
Christianity  distinguishes  between  desires  and  will. 

Let  us  for  a  moment  suppose  that  will  is  a  fundamental 
power,  and  of  a  higher  order  than  intellect;  but,  on  this 
hypothesis,  how  can  will  act  at  one  time  in  this  and  at  an- 
other in  the  opposite  direction  ?  How  happens  it,  that  in  one 
the  will  looks  only  for  selfish  gratifications,  and  in  another 
for  general  happiness  ?  Can  will  take  a  determinate  direction 
without  any  cause  ?  Is  it  different  in  itself,  or  is  it  in- 
fluenced by  other  causes — may  it,  for  instance,  be  excited 
by  the  feelings  ?  In  this  case,  however,  it  would  become 
dependent  and  exposed  to  aberrations. 

The  Christian  law  commands  the  will  to  resist  inferior 
temptations,  and  to  follow  the  inspirations  of  the  Spirit. 
Pious  persons,  also,  in  their  addresses  to  the  Great  Guiding 
Power,  pray  that  their  will  may  be  directed  towards  certain 
actions,  and  turned  away  from  others.  This  proves  that  they 
consider  will  as  susceptible  of  being  influenced,  and  by  no 
means  as  independent,  and  acting  without  any  cause.  Such 
an  independent  will  would,  indeed,  be  a  principle,  and  could 
have  only  one,  never  opposite  tendencies. 

Thus,  in  the  world,  will  has  been  separated  from  mere 
desires,  or  from  the  affective  faculties ;  and  intelligence  been 
considered  a  condition  necessary  to  its  manifestations.  Yet 
intelligence  does  not  constitute  will ;  for  a  person  with  an 
excellent  intellect  may  take  very  little  interest  in  the  welfare 
of  other  beings.  He  may  acknowledge  the  better,  and  still 
incline  and  even  yield  to  his  inclination  to  pursue  the  worse. 
Two  conditions  then,  the  feelings  and  intellect,  are  necessary 
to  will;  in  other  terms,  will  consists  in  the  application  of 
reason  to  the  affective  and  perceptive  faculties. 

The  greater  number  of  persons  take  their  individual  incli- 
nations and  pleasures  for  will,  forgetting  that  these  give 
motives  blindly  and  involuntarily.  We  may,  indeed,  say, 
that  the  exhibition  of  true  will  is  very  rare;  it  is  too  gener- 
ally in  opposition  to  our  inclinations.  This  state  has  been 
noticed  by  several  moralists.    '  The  spirit/  it  is  said,  ^  is 


394 


PHRENOLOGY 


willing,  but  the  flesh  is  weak.'  *  '  For  that  which  I  do/  says 
the  Apostle  Paul,  ^  I  allow  not :  for  what  I  would,  that  do 
I  not ;  but  what  I  hate,  that  do  I.'  f 

Here  it  is  sufficient  to  know  that  wall  can  neither  be  con- 
founded with  the  individual  inclinations  nor  with  intellect; 
and  that  it  is  no  special  faculty,  but  the  application  of  reason, 
or  the  reflective  powers,  to  our  desires  and  notions.  I  shall 
afterwards  show  that  in  its  true  signification  it  is  the  basis  of 
liberty. 

XI.  Affections. 

There  is  a  great  confusion  of  ideas  in  the  works  which  treat 
of  the  affections.  The  name  affection  is  sometimes  given 
to  fundamental  powers,  as  to  physical  love,  to  self-love,  to 
the  love  of  approbation,  and  to  hope.  Affections  are  also 
confounded  with  passions.  Moreover,  affections  are  occa- 
sionally put  for  the  pathognomonical  signs,  which  indicate  dif- 
ferent states  of  satisfaction  or  discontent  of  the  fundamental 
powers;  for  instance,  smiling,  laughing,  sighing,  yawning, 
shedding  tears,  &c. 

I  employ  the  word  in  none  of  the  preceding  significations, 
but  solely  according  to  its  etymology,  to  indicate  the  different 
states  of  being  affected  of  the  fundamental  powers.  The 
sense  of  feeling,  for  instance,  may  convey  tickling,  itching, 
burning,  or  lancinating  pain ;  its  various  modes  of  sensation 
are  affections.  In  the  same  way  the  internal  faculties  may 
be  differently  affected. 

The  affections  of  the  fundamental  faculties  may  be  divided 
into  qualitive  and  quantitive.  The  former  may  again  be 
subdivided  into  five  sorts:  1st,  general,  which  exist  in  each 
fundamental  power;  2d,  common,  which  inhere  in  several 
faculties;  3d,  special,  which  belong  to  individual  powers; 
4th,  simple  or  compound ;  finally,  5th,  which  are  common  to 
man  and  animals,  and  which  are  proper  and  peculiar  to  man. 

The  quantitive  affections  may  be  subdivided  into  two  sorts : 
1st,  the  fundamental  powers  and  their  qualitive  affections 
may  be  active  in  very  different  degrees,  from  indolence  to 


*  Matt.  xxvi.  41. 


f  Rom.  vii.  15. 


RECTIFICATION 


395 


passion;  and  2d,  tliej  may  act  with  more  or  less  quickness 
and  duration. 

Among  the  qualitive  and  quantitive,  and  among  the  simple 
and  compound  affections,  we  may  also  distinguish  those  which 
appear  in  the  state  of  health  from  those  which  occur  in  dis- 
ease.   Let  us  now  quote  examples  of  each  kind. 

A  general  quantitive  mode  of  action  or  affection  is  desire : 
each  faculty  being  active,  desires ;  hence,  there  are  as  many 
sorts  of  desire  as  fundamental  faculties.  The  sensations 
of  pleasure  and  pain  are  two  sorts  of  general  qualitive  affec- 
tions ;  they  are  effects,  and  happen,  the  former  if  any  faculty 
be  satisfied,  the  latter  if  its  desire  be  not  complied  with. 
There  are  consequently  as  many  kinds  of  pleasure  and  of 
pain  as  individual  faculties. 

The  mode  of  being  affected,  called  sentiment,  is  common 
to  several  affective  faculties.  That  known  under  the  name 
of  memory,  belongs  to  the  intellectual  faculties.  Fury  is 
common  to  combativeness  and  destructiveness.  Simple  affec- 
tions take  place  in  individual  faculties.  Anger,  in  my  opin- 
ion, is  a  special  affection  of  combativeness  or  destructiveness ; 
fear,  of  circumspection;  compassion,  of  benevolence;  and 
repentance  or  remorse,  of  conscientiousness.  Compound 
affections,  on  the  contrary,  depend  on  the  combined  activity 
of  several  faculties;  jealousy,  for  instance,  whose  essence 
is  egotism,  is  modified  according  to  the  peculiar  faculties 
which  desire,  as  physical  love,  friendship,  love  of  approba- 
tion. Envy  is  another  compound  aff'ection:  it  is  jealousy 
without  benevolence ;  it  increases  by  the  want  of  the  superior 
feelings.  An  envious  person  covets  for  himself  alone;  he 
would  possess  all  enjoyments,  to  the  entire  exclusion  of 
others ;  while  a  jealous  man  desires  to  enjoy  and  is  especially 
careful  not  to  lose  possession  of  the  pleasure  he  enjoys. 

The  affections  common  to  man  and  animals,  and  those 
proper  to  man,  depend  on  the  respective  faculties.  Anger, 
fear,  jealousy,  envy,  appear  in  man  and  animals,  as  the  facul- 
ties to  which  these  affections  belong  inhere  in  both;  while 
adoration,  repentance,  admiration,  and  shame,  pertain,  like 
the  faculties  from  which  they  arise,  to  man  alone. 


396 


PHRENOLOGY 


Let  us  now  remark  that  the  fundamental  powers  and  their 
qualitive  affections  may  be  more  or  less  active  or  strong. 
The  different  degrees  of  activity  are  called  velleity,  desire, 
ardent  desire,  passion;  of  the  agreeable  affections,  pleasure, 
joy,  and  ecstasy;  and  of  the  disagreeable  affections,  pain, 
grief,  and  misery. 

The  nervous  irritability,  which  is  styled  sentimentality 
in  friendship,  irascibility  in  courage,  sensibility  in  benevo- 
lence, indicates  only  a  higher  degree  of  excitability  or  activity 
of  the  fundamental  powers,  and  irregularity  of  application. 

The  affections  may,  further,  be  sudden  and  transitory,  or 
slow  and  durable.  Finally,  the  difference  of  the  affections 
in  the  healthy  and  diseased  «tate  is  easily  understood.  The 
complete  absence  of  a  faculty  may  be  called  imbecility,  if  it 
never  existed,  and  fatuity,  if  it  have  been  destroyed  by  dis- 
ease. Fury,  melancholy,  despair,  and  irresistibility  of  any 
inclination,  are  diseased  affections.  But  this  subject  is 
treated  of  at  greater  length  in  my  work  on  Insanity,  and  I 
shall  not  dwell  longer  on  it  here. 

Physicians,  as  well  as  moralists,  must  study  the  doctrine 
of  the  affections,  on  account  of  their  influence  on  the  vital 
functions  and  on  man's  actions  in  society.  The  same  may 
be  said  in  regard  to  the  following  article  on 

XII.  Passions. 

This  word  passion  is  commonly  confounded  with  affection. 
^¥hat  I  have  stated  upon  the  affections,  however,  being 
known,  the  signification  which  I  attach  to  the  term  passion 
will  be  easily  understood ;  I  use  it  to  indicate  only  the  highest 
degree  of  activity  of  any  faculty.  Passions,  therefore,  are 
not  fundamental  powers,  but  quantitive  modes  of  action,  and 
effects;  there  are,  consequently,  as  many  sorts  of  passions 
as  of  faculties. 

Physicians,  idealogists,  and  moralists,  incessantly  complain 
of  the  influence  of  the  passions,  since  they  ruin  health  and 
often  occasion  insanity,  disorder  judgment,  cloud  reason, 
and  are  causes  of  many  errors  and  criminal  actions. 

Passions  being  the  highest  degree  of  activity  of  every 


RECTIFICATION 


397 


faculty,  we  easily  conceive  why  great  results,  whether  good 
or  bad,  follow  from  them;  why  they  advance  the  arts  and 
sciences,  and  why  they  may  be  excessively  dangerous.  This 
depends  on  the  nature  of  the  faculties  which  act  with  the 
utmost  degree  of  energy.  The  lower  feelings,  however,  let 
me  remark,  are  commonly  the  most  active;  and  in  speaking 
of  passions,  we  are  apt  to  think  of  them.  Still,  the  superior 
sentiments  and  the  reflecting  powers  also  act  with  passion 
in  some,  that  is,  they  act  with  the  greatest  possible  energy. 
Two  feelings,  selfishness  and  the  love  of  glory,  have  been 
considered  by  Helvetius  as  the  greatest,  or  principal  passions, 
and  the  cause  of  all  our  actions.  There  is  no'  doubt  that  these 
two  feelings  are  very  active  in  the  majority  of  individuals, 
and  excite  and  employ  the  other  faculties  to  procure  their 
satisfaction.  But  certain  it  is,  also,  that  they  cannot  produce 
talents.  There  are  ambitious  people  eager  for  distinction, 
who  labor  hard,  and  who  notwithstanding  all,  never  excel  in 
any  one  particular. 

As  there  reigns  a  natural  harmony  among  the  fundamental 
powers,  those  faculties  which  are  too  energetic,  or  which  act 
with  passion,  must  obviously  disturb  this  balance  or  order. 
A  youth  in  love,  and  a  fanatic  in  religion,  sacrifice  the  rest 
to  their  passion,  and  do  harm.  Yet  in  complaining  of  the 
passions,  we  do  not  stigmatize  the  fundamental  powers  them- 
selves, but  only  their  too  great  energy.  This  remark  applies 
to  the  religious  and  moral  feelings,  as  well  as  to' the  most 
brutal  propensities.  Selfishness,  though  it  undermines  moral- 
ity, is  still  necessary  to  self-preservation.  The  love  of  appro- 
bation, though  the  main  cause  of  political  slavery,  has  a  useful 
destination  in  private  life.  And  religion,  though  the  source 
of  incalculable  misery,  procures  the  greatest  consolation  to 
humanity. 

I  shall  make  one  obser^^ation  more  upon  passions:  the 
factitious  passions,  spoken  of  in  books,  do  not  exist.  The 
primitive  powers,  on  which  they  depend,  are  innate;  their 
applications  alone  may  be  called  factitious.  Love  of  appro- 
bation is  inherent  in  human  nature;  its  satisfaction  by 
external  marks,  titles,  &c.  is  artificial. 


398 


PHRENOLOGY 


I  conclude  with  repeating  that  the  various  conceptions  of 
philosophers,  of  idealogists  as  well  as  of  moralists  exist  in 
nature,  but  they  are  defective  and  need  rectification,  that  is, 
the  fundamental  powers  of  the  mind  and  their  modes  of 
acting  must  be  specified,  and  their  existence  demonstrated 
by  observation.  This  great  task  was  reserved  to  Phrenology, 
by  which  alone  philosophy  will  become  applicable  to  man  in 
his  social  relations. 


SECTION  II. 

The  following  new  classification  of  the  fundamental  phe- 
nomena of  the  mind  is  the  result  of  all  physiological  inquiries, 
contained  in  my  work  entitled  Phrenology,  and  constitutes 
a  summary  of  its  philosophy. 

ORDER  I. 

Affective  faculties  or  feelings. 

The  essential  nature  of  the  affective  faculties  is  to  feel 
emotions.  I  shall  indicate  their  nature,  the  aim  of  their 
existence,  the  disorders  to  which  they  dispose,  and  the 
consequences  of  their  inactivity. 

Genus  I. — Feelings  common  to  man  and  animals. 

Hunger  and  thirst  are  desires  felt  and  known  by  means 
of  the  brain,  and  there  is  a  special  organ  in  which  these 
impressions  inhere. 

(  A  limentiveness. ) 

Aim:  The  preservation  of  the  individual. 

Disorders :  Gluttony — Dnmkenness. 

Its  inactivity  is  accompanied  by  want  of  appetite. 

Destetjctiveness. 

Aim:  Destruction,  and  the  violent  death  of  animals,  for 
the  sake  of  living  on  their  flesh. 
Disorders:  Murder,  cruelty. 
Its  inactivity  prevents  destruction. 


FUNDAMENTAL  PHENOMENA  OF  THE  MIND  399 


Physical  love — (Amativeness.) 

Aim:  The  propagation  of  the  species. 
Disorders:    Fornication,    adultery,    incest    and  other 
illegitimate  modes  of  satisfaction. 

Its  inactivity  predisposes  to  passive  continency. 

Love  of  oFFSPKii^a — (Philoprogenitiveness.) 

Aim:  The  preservation  of  the  offspring. 

Disorders:  Too  active;  it  spoils  children,  or  causes  their 
loss  to  be  felt  as  an  insupportable  calamity. 

Its  inactivity  disposes  to  neglect,  or  to  abandon  the 
progeny. 

Inhabitivetstess. 

Aim:  Animals  have  peculiar  instincts  to  dwell  in  deter- 
minate localities.    I^ature  destined  all  places  to  be  inhabited. 
Disorder:  l^ostalgia. 

Attachment — (Adhesiveness. ) 

Aim:  Attachment  to  all  around  us.  It  appears  variously 
modified,  and  produces  friendship,  marriage,  society,  habit, 
and  general  attachment. 

Disorders:  Inconsolable  grief  for  the  loss  of  a  friend. 

Its  inactivity  predisposes  to  carelessness  about  others. 

Courage —  (  Comhativeness. ) 
Aim:  Intrepidity  and  defence. 

Disorders:  Quarrelsomeness,  disputation,  attack,  anger. 
Its  inactivity  predisposes  to  cowardice,  timidity,  and  fear. 

Seceetiveness. 

Aim:  To  conceal. 

Disorders:  Cunning,  duplicity,  falsehood,  hypocrisy,  dis- 
simulation, intriguing,  lying. 

Its  inactivity  predisposes  to  be  deceived  by  others. 


400 


PHRENOLOGY 


Acquisitiveness. 
Aim:  To    acquire    that    which    is    necessary    to  our 
preservation. 

Disorders:  Theft,  fraud,  usury,  corruptibility. 

Its  inactivity  makes  one's  own  interest  be  neglected. 

CONSTRUCTIVENESS. 

Aim:  Construction  in  general. 

Cautiousness. 
Aim:  To  be  cautious  and  circumspect. 
Disorders:  Uncertainty,  irresolution,  anxiety,  fear,  melan- 
choly. 

Its  inactivity  predisposes  to  levity. 

Self-esteem. 

Aim:  Self-esteem. 

Disorders:  Pride,  haughtiness,  disdain,  arrogance,  inso- 
lence. 

Its  inactivity  predisposes  to  humility. 

Love  of  approbation. 
Aim:  Love  of  approbation  and  distinction. 
Disorders:  Vain  glory,  vanity,  ambition,  titles,  distinc- 
tions. 

Its  inactivity  predisposes  to  indifference  about  the 
opinion  of  others. 

Genus  II — Affective  faculties  proper  to  man.^ 

Benevolence. 
Aim:  Benevolence  in  general. 

Disorders:  Benevolence  to  the  undeserving,  or  at  the 
expense  of  others. 

*  The  rudiments  of  some  of  them  exist  also  in  animals ;  but  they 
are  much  stronger  and  more  extensive  in  their  sphere  of  application 
in  man. 


FUNDAMENTAL  PHENOMENA  OF  THE  MIND 


401 


Its  inactivity  predisposes  to  selfishness,  and  not  to  regard 
others. 

Reveeence. 
Aim:  To  respect  what  is  venerable. 
Disorders:  Idolatry,  bigotry. 
Its  inactivity  predisposes  to  irreverence. 

Firmness. 

Aim:  Firmness. 

Disorders:  Stubbornness,  obstinacy,  and  disobedience. 
Its  inactivity:  predisposes  to  inconstancy  and  change- 
ableness. 

CONSCIEN'TIOUSNESS. 

Aim:  Justice,  conscientiousness,  and  duty. 
Disorders:  Remorse  for  actions  which  are  innocent,  or 
of  no  importance. 

Its  inactivity  predisposes  to  forgetfulness  of  duty. 

Hope. 

Aim:  Hope. 

Disorders:  Love  of  scheming. 

Its  inactivity  predisposes  to  despair. 

Marvellousness. 
Aim:  Admiration,  and  belief  in  supernaturality. 
Disorders:  Sorcery,  astrology,  the  belief  in  demons. 
Its  inactivity  predisposes  to  incredulity  in  revealed  ideas. 

Ideality. 

Aim:  Perfection. 

Disorders:  Too  great  exaltation,  eccentricity. 

Its  inactivity  predisposes  to  taking  things  as  they  are. 

.  MiRTHFULNESS. 

Aim:  Glee,  mirth,  laughter. 

Disorders:  Raillery,  mockery,  irony,  satire. 

Its  inactivity  predisposes  to  seriousness. 

26 


402 


PHRENOLOGY 


Imitation". 

Aim:  Imitation,  expression  in  the  arts. 
Disordei's:  Bnffoonery,  grimaces. 

Its  inactivity  hinders  expression  in  the  arts,  and  imitation 
in  general. 

ORDER  II. 

Intellectual  faculties. 

The  essential  nature  of  the  intellectual  faculties  is  to 
procure  knowledge. 

Genus  I.    External  senses. 

Genus  II.  Internal  senses,  or  perceptive  faculties,  which 
procure  knowledge  of  external  objects,  their  physical 
qualities,  and  various  relations. 

Individuality.  Order. 

Configuration.  Calculation. 

Size.  Eventuality. 

Weight  and  resistance.  Time. 

Coloring.  Tune. 

Locality.  Language. 

Genus  III.    Reflective  faculties. 
Comparison. 
Causality. 

SECTION  III. 

Origin  of  the  Mental  Dispositions. 

Not  the  nature  of  the  mental  powers  only,  but  their  origin, 
or  the  cause  of  their  existence  also,  has  constantly  been  an 
object  of  investigation.  Philosophers  have  never  differed  in 
opinion  upon  the  vegetative  qualities  of  man.  His  digestion, 
circulation,  respiration,  and  various  secretions  and  excretions, 
are  natural  functions,  and  cannot  be  acquired  by  wall  nor 
intelligence ;  but,  in  regard  to  the  origin  of  the  mental  powers, 
many,  and  different  opinions,  have  been,  and  are  still,  enter- 
tained. According  to  some,  man  is  every  thing  by  nature ; 
to  others,  there  are  a  few  sreneral  fundamental  faculties  Avhich 


ORIGIN  OF  THE  MENTAL  DISPOSITIONS 


403 


produce  all  particular  manifestations;  whilst  others,  again, 
hold  that  man  is  born  without  any  determinate  disposition, 
a  tabula  rasa,  or  blank  sheet,  and  that  his  faculties  are  the 
result  of  external  impressions  both  natural  and  artificial. 
Let  us  examine  these  different  opinions,  and  see  how  far  each 
is  exaggerated. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Man  is  every  thing  hy  Nature,  or,  all  is  innate  in  Man. 

According  to  the  philosophers  of  antiquity,  we  look  in 
vain  for  qualities  in  man  which  are  not  given  to  him  from 
birth.  This  language  was  used  both  by  profane  and  religious 
writers.  Plato,  in  his  Kepublic,  considers  philosophical  and 
mathematical  talents,  memory,  and  the  sentiments  of  pride, 
ambition,  courage,  sensuality,  &c.,  as  innate.  Hippocrates, 
in  treating  of  the  qualities  necessary  for  a  physician,  speaks 
of  natural  and  innate  dispositions.  Aristotle,  in  his  work  on 
Political  Science,  adopts  the  principle,  that  some  are  bom 
to  govern  and  others  to  obey.  Quintilian  said,  *  If  precepts 
could  produce  eloquence,  who  would  not  be  eloquent  ? ' 
Cicero,  Seneca,  &c.,  were  of  opinion  that  religion  is  innate; 
so  thought  Lavater  also.  Herder  *  considered  man's  socia- 
bility, his  benevolence,  his  inclination  to  venerate  a  superior 
being,  his  love  of  religion,  &c.  as  innate.  Condillac  f  says, 
'  Man  does  not  know  what  he  can  do,  till  experience  has  shown 
what  he  is  capable  of  doing  by  the  force  of  nature  alone; 
therefore,  he  never  does  any  thing  purposely  till  he  has  once 
done  it  instinctively.  I  think  this  observation  will  be  found 
to  be  permanent  and  general.  I  think  also  that,  if  it  had  been 
duly  considered,  philosophers  would  have  reasoned  better 
than  they  have  done.  Man  makes  analyses  only  after  having 
observed  that  he  has  analyzed.  He  makes  a  language  after 
having  observefl  that  he  had  been  understood.   In  this  manner 

*  Ideen  zur  Geschichte  der  Philosophie  der  Menschheit.  Th.  1.  S.  252. 
f  (Euv.  Compl.  8vo.  t.  iii.  p.  115. 


404) 


PHRENOLOGY 


poets  and  orators  began  before  they  thought  of  their  peculiar 
talents.  In  one  word,  all  that  man  does  he  did  at  first  from 
nature  alone.  ^Nature  commences,  and  always  commences 
well.    This  is  a  truth  that  cannot  be  repeated  too  frequently.' 

*  When  the  laws/  says  he  in  another  passage,*  '  are  con- 
ventions, they  are  arbitrary.  This  may  be  the  case;  and, 
indeed,  there  are  too  many  arbitrary  laws;  but  those  which 
determine  the  morality  of  our  actions  cannot  be  arbitrary. 
They  are  our  work  in  as  far  as  they  are  conventional;  but 
we  alone  did  not  make  them;  nature  dictated  them  to  us, 
and  it  was  not  in  our  power  to  make  them  otherwise  than  they 
are.  The  wants  and  faculties  of  man  being  given,  laws  are 
given  also;  and,  though  we  make  them,  God,  who  created 
us  with  such  wants  and  such  faculties,  is,  in  fact,  our  sole 
legislator.  In  following  these  laws  conformably  to  nature 
we  obey  God;  and  this  is  the  completion  of  the  morality  of 
our  actions.' 

The  ancient  institution  of  castes,  or  tribes,  in  eastern  coun- 
tries, shows  that  endeavors  were  made  to  preserve  the  purity 
of  the  races.  The  prejudice  of  nobility  in  certain  families 
can  be  explained  only  by  admitting  the  innateness  of 
dispositions. 

The  religion  of  Christ  also  recognises  the  innateness  of  the 
faculties.  According  to  it,  all  is  given  from  above.  ^  A 
man  can  receive  nothing,  except  it  be  given  to  him  from 
Heaven.'  f  '  Is'o  one  can  come  unto  me  except  it  were  given 
to  him  by  my  Father.'  J  '  Who  hath  ears  to  hear,  let  him 
hear.'  §  ^  All  men  cannot  receive  this  saying,  save  they  to 
whom  it  is  given.'  ||  St.  Paul  says.  When  the  Gentiles  which 
have  not  the  law,  do  by  nature  the  things  contained  in  the 
law,  these,  having  not  the  law,  are  a  law  unto  themselves: 
which  show  the  word  of  the  law  written  in  their  hearts,  their 
conscience  also  bearing  witness,  and  their  thoughts  the 
meanwhile  accusing  or  else  excusing  one  another.' 

*  Loc.  cit.  p.  55.  t  John,  vi.  65.  ||  Matt.  xix.  11. 

t  John,  iii.  27.  §  Matt.  xiii.  9.  **  Kom.  ii.  14,  15. 


ORIGIN  OF  THE  MENTAL  DISPOSITIONS  405 


The  doctrine  of  predestination  is  also  conformable  to  the 
opinion  that  every  thing  is  innate.  Pions  persons  implore 
the  influence  of  God  and  of  various  spirits.  The  doctrine 
of  divine  grace  also  agrees  with  the  principle  that  man  has 
natural  gifts. 

Thus  the  principle  of  innateness  is  obvious,  and  has  been 
admitted  from  the  remotest  antiquity;  but  v^hat  it  is  that  is 
innate,  and  how  it  is  so,  are  points  not  sufficiently  known. 
Before  I  examine  them,  however,  I  shall  rectify  the  two  other 
notions,  already  mentioned,  in  regard  to  the  origin  of  the 
faculties  of  the  mind. 


CHAPTER  II. 

A  few  general  Faculties  produce  all  particular  Dispositions. 

Philosophers,  at  all  times,  have  had  a  great  fondness 
for  general  conceptions.  They  have  shown  the  same  liking 
in  their  explanation  of  the  causes  of  our  actions.  A  certain 
activity  of  the  mind  is  commonly  admitted  as  necessary  to 
profit  being  made  of  external  impressions ;  but  some  general 
modes  of  action  have  seemed  sufficient  to  account  for  all 
the  particulars. 

1.  Wants  and  pleasure  produce  our  Faculties. 

The  expression  Want  is  here  taken  as  synonymous  with 
desire.  This  general  term,  however,  designates  no  deter- 
minate faculty,  but  the  effect  of  each  power  being  active; 
there  are  as  many  wants,  or  desires,  as  fundamental  faculties, 
and  these  wants  are  proportionate  to  the  activity  of  the  facul- 
ties. Those,  therefore,  who  speak  of  wants,  in  this  sense, 
must  specify  them,  and  point  out  their  individual  causes. 
For  it  cannot  be  the  same  cause  which  finds  pleasure  in  con- 
struction and  in  demolition;  in  benevolence  and  in  cnielty; 
in  righteousness  and  in  sensual  enjoyments ;  in  the  study  of 
history  and  of  mathematics;  in  poetry  and  in  ascetic  con- 
templations, &c.  Thus  the  general  proposition  of  philoso- 
phers, that  desire  of  pleasure  and  aversion  to  pain  produce 


406 


PHRENOLOGY 


our  actions,  must  be  rectified.  The  pleasures  are  different, 
and  effects  of  individual  active  faculties;  these  then  must 
be  made  known,  and  the  objects  of  their  satisfaction  indicated, 

2.  Attention  is  the  cause  of  our  Faculties. 

Attention  is  very  commonly  considered  as  the  cause  of  all 
internal  faculties.  Helvetius  even  said,  that  each  v^ell- 
organized  person  might  exercise  his  faculties  by  means  of 
his  attention,  with  such  success  as  to  arrive  at  the  first  rank 
in  society. 

The  word  attention  as  I  have  shovm,  has  two  acceptations : 
it  denotes  consciousness  in  general ;  and  consequently,  in  this 
sense,  accompanies  the  activity  of  every  faculty;  and  it  ex- 
plains Avhy  one  animal  or  man  pays  great  attention  to  one 
object,  and  very  little  or  none  to  another;  why  individuals 
are  attentive  to  different  objects,  even  according  to  sex  and 
age ;  and  why  attention  is  proportionate  to  the  activity  of  the 
respective  faculty,  so  that,  if  the  senses  be  not  exercised,  much 
stronger  impressions  are  required  to  arouse  their  attention. 
The  attention,  therefore,  of  every  faculty  may  be  cultivated 
and  improved  by  its  exercise;  but  attention,  as  a  general 
quality,  cannot  be  the  appanage  of  any  particular  power. 

Moreover,  as  attention  also  denotes  a  distinct  consciousness, 
a  reflection  on  sensations  and  actions,  the  aptitudes  and 
instincts  of  animals  cannot  certainly  be  its  effect  in  this  sig- 
nification. 'No  one  will  maintain,  that  the  rabbit,  badger, 
mole,  marmot,  or  hamster,  make  burrows,  because  they  have 
examined  with  attention  the  advantages  of  such  dwellings; 
or  that  the  beaver  builds  a  cottage,  because  it  has  studied 
the  laws  of  mechanics.  Among  men,  geniuses  also  burst 
forth  quite  unconscious  of  their  talents.  This  kind  of  atten- 
tion then  may  excite,  but  can  never  produce,  the  particular 
faculties. 

3.  Understanding  is  the  cause  of  our  Faculties. 

This  proposition  is  also  cleared  up  by  Phrenology.  The 
affective  powers  must  be  separated  from  the  intellectual  facul- 
ties, and  there  are  several  sorts  of  understanding,  and  each 


ORIGIN-  OF  THE  MENTAL  DISPOSITIONS 


407 


special  power,  affective  or  intellectual,  is  a  fundamental  gift, 
in  the  same  way  as  each  external  sense. 

4.  The  Will  is  the  cause  of  our  Faculties, 

This  opinion  is  refuted  by  daily  observation.  Who  can 
doubt  that  every  thinker  as  well  as  every  dreamer  in  philoso- 
phy has  occasionally  felt  the  limits  of  his  faculties,  and  has 
done  things  disapproved  of  by  reason.  What  had  then  be- 
come  of  the  will  ?  I  do  not  agree  with  those  who  object,  that 
man  is  degraded  by  having  his  actions  explained.  Those  who 
use  such  language  seem  to  me  to  speak  without  attaching 
any  meaning  to  their  words.  Is  man  degraded  by  having  it 
said,  that  he  must  submit  to  the  laws  of  the  creation  ?  Can 
he  change  the  laws  of  his  organization,  of  his  senses,  of  his 
understanding,  or  alter  the  principles  of  music,  algebra,  &c.  ? 
Were  man  degraded  by  a  determinate  nature,  all  beings  are 
so,  even  God  himself,  seeing  that,  by  his  nature,  he  cannot 
Avill  evil,  nor  do  an  injustice.  JSTow,  if  God  act  according  to 
his  nature,  man  cannot  be  degraded  by  laws  dictated  to  him 
by  the  Creator,  or  by  his  will  not  being  absolute.  In  the 
same  way  man  is  not  degraded  by  our  saying,  that  he  cannot 
produce  the  talents  and  feelings  he  desires. 


CHAPTER  III. 

Mans  Faculties  are  the  result  of  Education. 

The  doctrine  of  innate  ideas,  of  innate  moral  principles 
and  of  predestined  actions  lost  its  authority  by  degrees,  and 
it  was  easy  to  combat  it,  as  it  is  not  conformable  to  nature. 
That  so  many  errors  on  this  point  should  have  prevailed 
during  centuries  is  almost  inconceivable;  for  every  day  ob- 
servation belies  the  principle.  How  could  philosophers 
maintain  that  man  is  every  thing  from  birth,  with  the  fact 
before  them  of  the  difference  in  so  many  particulars  between 
the  Athenians  and  Lacedaemonians,  occasioned  by  the  dis- 


408 


PHRENOLOGY 


similarity  of  the  laws  which  governed  each  nation  ?  And  is 
it  not  obvious  too,  that  several  modern  nations  neglect  the 
arts  and  sciences  only  because  their  religious  creeds  interdict 
such  pursuits  ?  And  further,  is  not  every  one  of  us  aware 
that  his  notions  and  his  actions  are  modified  by  external 
circumstances,  and  by  the  education  he  has  received?  The 
doctrine  of  universal  innateness  has  been  examined  and  re- 
futed by  Locke,  Condillac,  and  others,  and  I  find  it  super- 
fluous to  say  more  on  the  subject  here.  But  some  of  these 
authors  and  their  followers  fell  into  the  opposite  extreme, 
and  conceived  men  and  animals  bom  indifferent — tahulw 
rasoe,  or  blank  sheets,  and  maintained  all  the  instincts  of 
animals,  from  the  insect  to  the  dog  and  elephant,  to  be  the 
consequences  of  instruction.  Helvetius — the  great  cham- 
pion of  this  opinion — maintains  that  foxes  hunt  because  they 
have  learnt  hunting  from  their  parents ;  birds  sing  and  build 
nests  in  consequence  of  instruction;  and  man  becomes  man 
by  education. 

The  opinion  of  Helvetius  and  his  school,  being  still  much 
accredited,  and  many  institutions  being  founded  on  it,  de- 
serves a  particular  examination,  but  the  answer  to  their  posi- 
tions is,  that  education  produces  no  faculty  whatever,  either 
in  man  or  animals.  According  to  their  hypothesis,  arts  and 
sciences  ought  to  improve  in  proportion  as  they  are  taught, 
and  mankind  ought  to  become  perfect  under  the  care  of  moral 
and  religious  preachers.  W^j  then  is  the  progress  of  the 
arts  and  sciences  so  slow  ?  Why  are  we  forced  to  allow  that 
men  of  genius  are  born  ?  ^\^iy  has  every  one  of  us  certain 
faculties  stronger  than  others  ?  Truth  lies  at  neither  of 
the  extremes,  but  between  the  two,  and  this  is  what  I  shall 
endeavor  to  prove.  I  shall  consider,  under  three  separate 
heads,  the  ideas  according  to  which  man  acquires  his  affective 
and  intellectual  faculties  by  education.  The  first  concerns 
the  external  senses ;  the  second  fortuitous  circumstances ;  and 
the  third,  instruction  and  the  external  circumstances  which 
are  voluntarily  prepared. 


ORIGIN  OF  THE  MENTAL  DISPOSITIONS 


409 


1.  Of  the  external  Senses  as  cause  of  the  mental  faculties. 

The  external  senses,  it  is  certain,  are  indispensable  to  the 
acquiring  of  knowledge  of  the  external  world,  and  to  the 
fulfilment  of  social  duties;  it  is  also  certain  that  they  are 
given  by  nature.  But  it  is  only  because  they  are  absolutely 
necessary  to  our  actions  that  they  have  been  considered  as 
their  cause. 

This  subject  has  been  particularly  examined  in  the  first 
part  of  this  work,  and  I  shall  only  repeat  that  the  internal 
faculties  are  not  in  proportion  to  the  external  senses,  and 
that  these  are  mere  intermedia.  The  hands  may  be  used 
to  take  food,  to  write  to  a  friend,  to  draw,  to  play  on  a 
musical  instrument,  &c. ;  but  they  do  not  produce  hunger, 
friendship,  drawing,  music,  &c.  Let  us  observe  instead  of 
supposing,  and  we  shall  find  that  the  internal  faculties  are 
only  manifested  by  means  of  the  external  senses  and  of 
voluntary  motion. 

2.  Of  fortuitous  or  accidental  Circumstances  as  the  cause  of 

our  faculties. 

The  following  language  is  very  common: — J^ecessity 
makes  man  act  and  invent;  occasions  produce  talents;  revo- 
lutions bring  forth  great  men ;  danger  gives  courage ;  society 
causes  the  passions,  and  these  are  the  principal  motives  of 
our  actions ;  climate  and  food  beget  powers,  &c. ;  in  short, 
circumstances  produce  the  mental  faculties. 

Whatever  has  been  said  of  fortuitous  circumstances  as 
the  cause  of  faculties,  may  be  reduced  to  two  considerations : 
they  present  the  faculties  with  opportunities  necessary  to  the 
exhibition  of  their  activity;  or  they  excite  the  faculties, 
without,  however,  originating  them. 

^  Demosthenes/  says  Helvetius,  ^  became  eloquent  because 
the  eloquence  of  Callistratus  made  so  deep  an  impression 
on  his  mind  that  he  aspired  only  to  this  talent.'  According 
to  the  same  author,  ^  Yaucanson  became  famous  in  mechanics, 
because,  being  left  alone  in  the  waiting-room  of  his  mother's 
confessor,  when  a  child,  he  chanced  to  find  a  clock,  and  after 


410 


PHRENOLOGY 


examining  its  wheels,  endeavoring,  with  a  bad  knife,  to 
make  a  similar  machine  of  wood.  He  succeeded,  and  there- 
fore constructed  his  surprising  machines,  the  automatons. 
Milton  would  not  have  written  his  Paradise  Lost,  had  he  not 
lost  his  place  of  secretary  to  Cromwell.  Shakespeare  com- 
posed his  plays  because  he  was  an  actor;  and  he  became  an 
actor  because  he  was  forced  to  leave  his  native  country  on 
account  of  some  juvenile  errors.  Comeille  fell  in  love,  and 
made  verses  to  the  object  of  his  passion,  and  therefore  became 
famous  in  poetry.  ISTewton  saw  an  apple  falling,  and  this 
revealed  to  him  the  law  of  gravitation,  &;c.' 

In  this  manner  of  reasoning  the  origin  of  the  faculties  is 
confounded  either  with  the  opportunity  necessary  for  their 
manifestation,  or  with  some  external  excitement.  It  is 
evident  that  external  circumstances  must  permit  the  internal 
faculties  to  act;  opportunities,  however,  do  not,  therefore, 
produce  faculties.  Without  food  I  cannot  eat ;  but  I  am  not 
hungry  because  food  exists.  A  dog  cannot  hunt  if  it  be  shut 
up,  but  its  desire  of  hunting  is  not  produced  by  leading  it 
into  the  fields.  Many  millions  are  often  placed  in  the  same 
circumstances,  and,  perhaps,  a  single  individual  alone  takes 
advantage  of  them.  Revolutions  make  great  men,  not  be- 
cause they  produce  faculties,  but  because  they  offer  oppor- 
tunities necessary  to  their  display.  Circumstances  often 
favor  the  attainment  of  distinction  and  the  acquisition  of 
celebrity,  but  every  individual  does  not  reach  an  eminent 
place.  Bonaparte  alone  knew  how  to  acquire  supremacy 
over  all  French  generals  who  rose  before  and  with  him.  The 
Revolution  of  Spain  is  far  from  having  produced  the  same 
results  as  that  of  France.  It  is  not  certainly  enough  to  be 
an  actor  in  order  to  compose  such  plays  as  those  of  Shake- 
speare. Theatrical  performers  were  almost  ranked  with 
slaves,  at  Rome,  yet  ^sop  and  Roscius  appeared;  whilst  in 
Greece,  where  this  profession  was  esteemed,  no  actor  of  re- 
nown is  on  record.  France  has  produced  a  greater  number 
of  eminent  actors  than  England;  yet  in  the  former  country 
performers  were  excommunicated  and  in  the  latter  honored. 
How  many  children  are  exposed  to  similar  infiuences  without 


ORIGIN  OF  THE  MENTAL  DISPOSITIONS 


411 


manifesting  the  same  energy  of  faculties,  while,  on  the  con- 
trary, some  individuals  not  only  make  use  of  occasions  pres- 
ent, but  prepare  and  produce  others  which  permit  their 
faculties  a  still  greater  sphere  of  activity ! 

On  the  other  hand,  it  is  true  that  our  faculties  are  often 
excited  by  events,  and  that  without  external  excitement  they 
would  remain  inactive.  Yet  however  useful,  the  study  of 
excellent  models  may  be  in  the  arts,  I  am  still  convinced 
that  the  principles  of  every  science,  art,  and  profession,  are 
readily  conceived  by  those  who  possess  the  faculties  each 
requires  in  a  high  degree.  This  is  the  case  with  moral 
principles  and  religion  also,  which  are  easily  developed  if  the 
innate  conditions  on  which  they  depend  be  possessed. 

Society. 

Many  authors  treat  of  the  natural  state  of  man  in  opposi- 
tion to  his  social  condition,  and  consider  numerous  qualities 
as  the  result  of  society.  According  to  their  hypothesis,  man 
is  made  for  solitude ;  the  social  state  is  contrary  to  his  nature ; 
and  many  of  his  virtues  and  vices  would  never  have  existed, 
had  he  not  abandoned  his  state  of  isolation. 

Excepting  certain  idiots,  however,  where,  and  at  what  time, 
has  man  lived  a  solitary  being?  History,  so  far  as  it  goes, 
shows  that  he  has  always  lived  in  society;  in  families,  at 
least ;  and  families,  though  scattered  through  the  woods,  form 
communities.  As  we  find  man  every  where  united  in  socie- 
ties, then,  is  it  not  natural  to  conclude  that  he  is  a  social 
being?  Animals,  it  is  necessary  to  recollect,  in  regard  to 
the  instinct  of  sociability,  are  divided  into  two  classes: 
several  species  are  destined  to  live  in  society,  as  sheep,  mon- 
keys, crows,  &c. ;  others  to  live  solitary,  as  the  fox,  hare, 
magpie,  &c.  Man  belongs  to  the  social  class,  l^ow  we  may 
easily  conceive  that  the  social  animals  are  endowed  with 
faculties  destined  for  society,  and  that  these  cannot  act  with- 
out it.  And  every  individual  is,  in  fact,  generally  calcu- 
lated for  society;  all  his  faculties  are  in  harmony  with  this 
aim.  Bustards  and  cranes  place  sentinels;  a  flock  of  wild 
geese  forms  a  triangle  in  flying ;  a  herd  of  chamois  is  led  by 


413 


PHRENOLOGY 


a  female ;  bees  act  in  concert,  &c. ;  and  all  these  peculiarities 
inhere  in  animals  along  with  the  social  instinct.  Conse- 
quently society  is  itself  a  natural  institution;  a  law  estab- 
lished by  creation;  and  the  faculties  of  social  animals  are 
not  the  result  of  society.  This  proposition  is  also  proved 
by  the  fact  of  social  animals  having  different  and  often 
opposite  faculties;  which  if  society  produce  any  of  them 
could  never  happen. 

Misery. 

Want,  that  is,  some  disagreeable  sensation,  misery,  poverty, 
or  painful  situation,  is  often  considered  as  the  source  of  the 
instincts,  propensities,  sentiments,  and  intellectual  faculties 
of  man  and  animals. 

Want,  in  this  signification,  certainly  excites  the  internal 
faculties,  but  it  is  not  true  that  it  produces  them;  or  else 
the  same  external  wants  ought  to  create  the  same  faculties 
in  animals  and  in  man :  yet  we  observe  that  not  merely  every 
kind  of  animal,  but  even  every  individual,  acts  differently 
under  like  impressions  from  without.  The  partridge  dies 
of  hunger  and  cold  during  sharp  winters,  and  the  sparrow 
falls  benumbed  from  the  housetop,  while  the  nightingale  and 
quail  take  wing  to  temperate  climes  before  the  season  of 
want  arrives.  The  cuckoo  requires  a  nest  to  lay  its  eggs  in 
as  well  as  the  wagtail  or  the  redbreast,  and  yet  builds  none. 
The  idiot  makes  no  effort  to  defend  himself  from  the  in- 
clemencies of  the  weather,  while  the  reasonable  man  covers 
himself  with  clothing.  Moreover,  the  faculties  of  animals 
and  man  are  active,  without  any  necessity  from  external 
circumstances.  The  beaver,  though  shut  up  and  protected 
against  the  weather,  builds  its  hut;  and  the  weaver  bird, 
though  in  a  cage,  makes  its  tissue.  It  consequently  follows, 
that  external  wants  excite  the  activity  of  the  internal  facul- 
ties, but  do  not  produce  them;  and  in  this  respect  their  in- 
fluence is  important.  The  faculties  of  the  poor,  for  instance, 
are  more  active  than  those  of  the  affluent ;  when  the  faculties, 
however,  have  not  been  given  by  nature,  external  wants 
cannot  excite  them. 

On  the  other  hand,  misery  exercises  innate  benevolence  and 


ORIGIN  OF  THE  MENTAL  DISPOSITIONS  413 


improves  the  softer  feelings,  whilst  riches  are  prone  to  excite 
and  encourage  loAver  passions,  and  in  this  sense  it  may  be  said 
that  the  Lord  inflicts  pain  upon  those  he  likes,  that  is,  they 
grow  better;  and  Jesus  Christ  condemned  riches,  yet  it 
remains  certain  that  misery  does  not  produce  benevolence. 

I  have  already  shown  that  the  expression  Want,  taken  as 
synonymous  with  inclination  or  desire,  is  the  effect  and  not 
the  cause  of  the  internal  faculties ;  that  there  are  as  many 
wants  as  different  faculties ;  and  that  wants  are  proportionate 
to  the  activity  of  these. 

Climate  and  mode  of  Living. 

Several  philosophers  have  supposed  that  climate,  mode  of 
living,  and  even  the  nurse's  milk,  might  be  the  cause  of  man's 
faculties. 

In  this  manner  of  thinking,  the  modifications  are  con- 
founded with  the  origin  of  our  faculties.  The  opinion,  how- 
ever, must  be  considered.  The  arguments  adduced  in  support 
of  it  only  prove  that  manifestation  of  the  faculties  depends 
on  the  organization;  for  climate,  eating,  drinking,  &c. 
have  a  powerful  influence  upon  the  body.  Instead,  therefore, 
of  denying  the  influence  of  climate,  food,  air,  light,  &c.  I 
consider  it  as  of  great  importance,  in  as  far  as  the  activity 
of  the  faculties  is  concerned.  The  milk  of  nurses  certainly 
contributes  to  the  growth  and  organic  constitution  of  children, 
and  consequently  to  the  manifestation  of  the  affective  and 
intellectual  faculties,  inasmuch  as  the  body  is  necessary  to 
this.  All  these  external  influences,  however,  cannot,  it  is 
evident,  produce  any  faculty.  If  parents  were  right  in 
attributing  the  inferior  propensities  of  their  children  to  the 
nourishment  they  had  received,  why  should  not  grown-up 
people,  who  live  on  beef,  veal,  mutton,  pork,  &c.,  accuse  the 
ox,  calf,  sheep,  and  pig,  for  their  want  of  intelligence,  and 
their  peculiar  character  ?  The  activity  of  our  faculties  varies 
with  the  modifications  of  our  organization,  just  as  the  milk 
and  butter  of  cows  vary  according  to  the  food  they  live  on; 
or  as  the  flesh  and  fat  of  animals  are  modified  according  to 
the  articles  with  which  they  are  fattened.    The  activity  of 


414 


PHRENOLOGY 


men  fed  on  game  differs  much  from  the  activity  of  men  living 
upon  potatoes  and  other  vegetables;  and  it  seems  possible  to 
shov^  the  influence  of  different  aliments  upon  certain  systems 
in  the  healthy  state,  just  as  it  may  be  shown  that  some  medi- 
cines act  more  upon  one  than  upon  another.  From  the  same 
reason  v^^e  may  also  conceive  the  utility  of  certain  rules  of 
fasting  in  subduing  sensual  appetites.  Particular  degrees 
of  excitement  suppress  the  activity  of  certain  faculties,  v^hile 
they  increase  that  of  others. 

Climate  certainly  exerts  a  great  influence  upon  the  organ- 
ization, and  it  is  natural  to  suppose  that  one  contributes  more 
than  another  to  develope  certain  faculties.  The  influence 
of  climate  is  not,  however,  so  powerful  on  man  as  on  animals ; 
for  man,  by  means  of  his  intellectual  faculties,  opposes  its 
effects.  The  Jews  are  a  proof  of  this.  They  are  dispersed 
over  the  whole  world,  and  though  somewhat  modified  in  dif- 
ferent countries,  their  primitive  and  characteristic  organ- 
ization is  still  every  where  the  same.  The  effects  of  innate- 
ness  and  of  the  laws  of  propagation  are  much  more  potent 
than  those  of  any  thing  external.  In  saying,  therefore,  that 
climate  and  food  influence  the  activity  of  the  faculties,  this 
is  not  to  be  confounded  with  their  primitive  origin. 

3.  Of  prepared  Circumstances,  and  Instruction  as  the  cause 
of  our  Faculties. 

Having  once  considered  external  circumstances  as  cause 
of  the  mental  faculties,  men  naturally  thought  that  to  teach 
arts  and  sciences,  and  moral  and  religious  principles,  to 
found  academies  and  schools,  to  pay  large  sums  to  masters, 
and  to  study  the  works  of  great  men,  might  be  suflicient  to 
produce  superior  talents. 

This  opinion  must  be  opposed,  by  observing: — 

i.  The  Constancy  of  the  Nature  of  Animals  and  Man. 

Were  animals  susceptible  of  change  from  every  impression 
and  not  endowed  with  determinate  natures,  how  comes  it 
that  every  species  always  preserves  the  same  characters  ? 


ORIGIN  OF  THE  MENTAL  DISPOSITIONS 


415 


Whj  do  not  fowls  coo  when  they  are  reared  with  pigeons? 
Why  do  not  female  nightingales  sing  like  males  ?  Why  do 
birds  of  one  kind,  hatched  by  those  of  another,  display  the 
habits  and  instincts  of  their  parents?  Why  does  the  duck, 
hatched  by  a  hen,  run  towards  the  water  ?  Why  does  not  the 
cuckoo  sing  like  the  bird  that  reared  it  ?  Why  do  squirrels, 
when  pursued,  climb  trees,  and  rabbits  hide  themselves  in 
burrows  ?  Why  are  dogs  attached  in  despite  of  the  unkind 
blows  they  receive,  &c.  ?  It  is  true  that  animals  are  not 
confined  in  their  actions  solely  to  such  as  are  required  for 
their  preservation.  They  vary  their  manners  according  to 
the  circumstances  in  which  they  live ;  and  are  susceptible  of 
an  education  beyond  their  wants.  Horses,  monkeys,  dogs, 
&c.,  may  be  taught  to  play  various  tricks.  This  power,  how- 
ever, of  modifying  their  actions  is  still  limited,  and  is  always 
conformable  to  their  nature. 

The  same  reasoning  applies  to  man.  If  his  faculties  be 
the  result  of  external  influences,  why  does  he  never  manifest 
any  other  nature  but  his  own  ?  Children  pass  most  of  their 
time  with  mothers  and  nurses;  yet  boys  and  girls,  from 
the  earliest  infancy,  show  the  distinctive  characters  which 
continue  and  mark  them  through  life. 

ii.  The  Occurrence  of  Geniuses  among  Animals  and  Men. 

Did  animals  and  men  learn  all  from  others,  why  should 
individuals,  similarly  circumstanced  in  regard  to  manner 
of  living  and  instruction,  excel  the  rest  ?  Why  should  one 
nightingale  sing  better  than  another  living  in  the  same  wood  ? 
Why,  amongst  a  drove  of  oxen,  or  horses,  is  one  individual 
good-tempered  and  meek,  and  another  ill-natured  and  savage  ? 
M.  Dupont  de  l^emours  had  a  cow  which  singly  knew  how 
to  open  the  gates  of  an  enclosure:  none  of  the  herd  ever 
learned  to  imitate  its  procedure,  but  waited  impatiently  near 
the  entrance  for  their  leader.  I  have  the  history  of  a  pointer, 
which,  when  kept  out  of  a  place  near  the  fire  by  the  other  dogs 
of  the  family,  used  to  go  into  the  yard  and  bark ;  all  immedi- 
ately came  and  did  the  same;  meanwhile  he  ran  in,  and 
secured  the  best  place.    Though  his  companions  were  often 


416 


PHRENOLOGY 


deceived,  none  of  them  ever  imitated  his  stratagem.  I  also 
knew  of  a  little  dog,  which,  when  eating  with  large  ones, 
behaved  in  the  same  manner,  in  order  to  secure  his  portion, 
or  to  catch  some  good  bits.  These  are  instances  of  genius 
among  animals  which  are  hj  no  means  the  result  of 
instruction. 

Children  often  show  particular  dispositions  and  talents 
before  they  have  received  any  kind  of  education.  Almost 
every  great  man  has,  in  infancy,  given  earnests  of  future 
eminence.  Achilles,  hidden  in  Pyrrha's  clothes,  took  the 
sword  from  among  the  presents  of  Ulysses.  Themistocles, 
when  a  child,  said  that  he  knew  how  to  aggrandize  and  render 
a  state  powerful.  Alexander  would  not  dispute  any  prize 
at  the  Olympic  games,  unless  his  rivals  were  kings.  At  four- 
teen years  of  age,  Cato  of  IJtica  showed  the  greatest  aversion 
to  tyranny.  'Nero  was  cruel  from  his  cradle.  Pascal,  when 
twelve  years  old,  published  his  treatise  on  Conic  Sections. 
Voltaire  made  verses  when  only  seven  years  of  age.  The 
number  of  such  instances  is  very  great,  and  it  is  unnecessary 
to  mention  more  here,  as  they  must  be  within  the  scope  of 
every  one's  knowledge. 

iii.  Individualities  among  Animals  and  Men. 

Individual  animals  of  every  species  have  universally  some- 
thing particular  in  their  mental  constitution;  every  bird  of 
the  same  brood  does  not  acquire  its  song  with  equal  facility ; 
one  horse  is  fitter  for  the  race  than  another;  and  sportsmen 
know  very  well  that  there  is  a  great  difference  among  dogs. 
It  is  the  same  with  the  human  kind.  Children  of  the  same 
parents  differ  in  talents  and  disposition,  though  their  edu- 
cation has  been  the  same.  How  then  should  the  same  edu- 
cation possibly  produce  the  peculiarities  of  different  children  ? 
Or  why  have  not  teachers  yet  found  means  to  confer  under- 
standing, judgment,  and  all  other  good  qualities  ?  Why  are 
we  not  all  geniuses  ?  Why  cannot  moral  and  satirical  dis- 
courses keep  us  from  abusing  our  faculties  ?  And  why  must 
we  lament  so  many  errors  and  crimes  ? 

To  prove  that  man  acquires  his  affective  and  intellectual 


ORIGIN  OF  THE  MENTAL  DISPOSITIONS  41T 


faculties  by  education,  some  assert  that  the  savages  who  have 
been  found  in  the  woods,  and  destitute  of  all  human  faculties, 
resemble  beasts  only  because  they  have  not  received  any 
education. 

This  presumption  is  refuted  as  soon  as  the  condition  of 
these  unfortunate  beings  is  known.  They  may  be  referred  to 
two  classes;  being  ordinarily  defective  in  organization,  with 
large  dropsical  heads,  or  brains  too  small  and  deformed. 
They  are  almost  always  scrofulous,  have  hanging  lips,  a  thick 
tongue,  swollen  neck,  bad  general  constitution,  and  an  un- 
steady gait;  they  are  more  or  less  completely  idiots,  and  have 
commonly  been  exposed  and  left  to  the  care  of  Providence, 
having  been  found  burdens  by  their  parents.  In  some  coun- 
tries, the  lower  classes  consider  such  unhappily-constituted 
creatures  as  bewitched,  and  take  no  care  of  them.  Idiots 
too  have  sometimes  a  determinate  propensity  to  live  alone, 
and  consequently  escape  to  the  woods.  At  Haina,  near  Mar- 
bourg,  where  there  is  a  great  hospital.  Dr.  Gall  and  I  were 
told,  that  on  sending  people  to  search  for  some  idiots  who 
had  escaped,  others  were  found  who  had  fled  from  different 
places.  We  saw  a  mad  woman  near  Augsburg,  who  had 
been  found  in  a  wood.  At  Brunswick  we  saw  a  woman  also 
found  in  a  forest,  who  was  incapable  of  pronouncing  a  single 
word.  The  pretended  savage  of  Aveyron,  kept  in  the  institu- 
tion of  the  Deaf  and  Dumb  at  Paris,  is  an  idiot  in  a  high 
degree.  His  forehead  is  very  small,  and  much  compressed 
in  the  superior  part ;  his  eyes  are  small,  and  lie  deep  in  the 
orbits,  and  we  could  not  convince  ourselves  that  he  hears; 
for  he  paid  no  attention  to  our  calls,  nor  to  the  sound  of  a 
glass  struck  behind  him.  He  stands  and  sits  decently,  but 
moves  his  head  and  body  incessantly  from  side  to  side.  He 
knows  several  Avritten  signs  and  words,  and  points  out  the 
objects  noted  by  them.  His  most  remarkable  instinct,  how^- 
ever,  is  love  of  order;  for,  as  soon  as  any  thing  is  displaced 
in  the  room,  he  goes  and  puts  it  to  rights. 

Such  unfortunate  beings,  then,  are  idiots,  not  because  they 
are  uneducated,  but  because  their  imbecility  unfits  them  to 
receive  education.    It  is  difficult  to  conceive  a  well-organized 

27 


418 


PHRENOLOGY 


person  long  Avandering  about  like  a  savage  in  our  populous 
countries  without  being  discovered.  Were  such  an  indi- 
vidual, however,  to  escape  in  infancy,  and  be  afterwards 
discovered  in  a  forest,  though  he  could  not  be  acquainted 
with  our  manners,  and  the  sciences  we  teach,  he  would  still 
manifest  the  essential  and  characteristic  faculties  of  the 
human  kind,  and  would  soon  imitate  our  customs  and  receive 
our  instructions.  The  girl  of  Champaigne  proves  this 
assertion. 

Thus,  education  produces  no  faculty  either  in  man  or  in 
animals ;  but  let  us  not  conclude  that  education  is  superfluous. 
My  ideas  on  education  are  published  in  a  separate  volume, 
and  I  only  remark  here  that  it  excites,  exercises,  determines 
the  application,  and  prevents  the  abuses  of  the  innate  facul- 
ties ;  and  that  on  this  account  it  is  of  the  highest  importance. 
Mechanics  and  peasants,  confined  to  their  laborious  occupa- 
tions, are  frequently  ignorant;  but  many  of  them,  with  a 
good  education,  might  surpass  thousands  of  those  who  have 
enjoyed  its  advantages. 

From  the  preceding  considerations  on  external  circum- 
stances, it  results,  that  they  either  present  opportunities  which 
favor  the  activity  of  the  faculties,  or  excite  and  guide,  but 
do  not  in  any  wise  produce  them. 

I  shall  now  consider  the  share  l^ature  has  in  originating 
the  powers  of  man  and  animals,  in  the  following  chapter. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

On  the  Innateness  of  the  Mental  Dispositions. 

Let  us  see  now  what  is  innate.  The  fundamental  powers 
of  the  mind,  as  well  as  the  organization  on  which  their 
manifestations  depend,  are  given  to  man  by  the  Creator. 
The  constancy  of  human  nature  affords  the  first  proof  of  this 
position.  The  human  kind,  in  as  far  as  its  history  is  known, 
has  ever  been  the  same,  not  only  as  regards  organic,  but  also 
as  concerns  phrenic  life.    The  skeletons  of  ancient  mummies 


ORIGIN  OF  THE  MENTAL  DISPOSITIONS  419 

are  the  very  same  as  those  of  the  men  at  the  present  day; 
and  all  ages  have  exhibited  virtues  and  vices  essentially  simi- 
lar. Thus,  the  special  faculties  of  man  have  ever  been  the 
same;  the  only  diiference  observable  at  different  times,  is, 
that  they  have  been  more  or  less  active,  and  variously 
modified  in  individuals.  Here  one  has  unjustly  seized  a 
piece  of  ground,  there  a  place  of  distinction ;  here  mistresses 
have  been  celebrated  on  an  oaten-reed,  there  on  a  harp; 
conquerors  in  one  quarter  have  been  decorated  with  feathers, 
in  another  with  purple  and  crowns,  and  so  on ;  these  modifi- 
cations are,  however,  all  grounded  upon  primitive  faculties 
essentially  the  same.  And  man,  though  endowed  with  proper 
and  peculiar  faculties,  still  receives  them  from  creation ;  the 
truly  human  nature  is  as  determinate  as  the  nature  of  every 
other  being.  Though  man  compares  his  sensations  and  ideas, 
inquires  into  the  causes  of  phenomena,  draws  consequences, 
discovers  laws  and  general  principles,  measures  immense  dis- 
tances and  times,  and  circumnavigates  the  globe;  though  he 
acknowledges  culpability  and  worthiness,  bears  a  monitor 
in  his  interior,  and  raises  his  mind  to  conceive  and  to  adore 
a  God, — yet  none  of  the  faculties  which  cause  these  acts  result 
either  from  accidental  external  influences  or  from  his  own 
will.  How  indeed  could  the  Creator  abandon  and  give  man 
up  to  chance  in  the  noblest  and  most  important  of  all  his 
doings  ?  Impossible !  Here,  as  in  all  besides,  he  has  pre- 
scribed laws  to  man,  and  guided  his  steps  in  a  determinate 
path.  He  has  secured  the  continuance  of  the  same  essential 
faculties  in  the  human  kind, — faculties  whose  existence  we 
should  never  have  conceived  had  the  Creator  not  bestowed 
them  upon  us. 

The  uniformity  of  the  essential  faculties  of  mankind,  not- 
withstanding the  influence  of  society,  climate,  modes  of 
living,  laws,  religion,  education,  and  fortuitous  events,  affords 
another  great  proof  that  nothing  can  change  the  institutions 
of  nature.  We  every  where  find  the  same  species;  whether 
man  clothe  himself  or  go  naked,  fight  with  slings  or  artillery, 
stain  his  skin,  or  powder  his  hair,  dance  to  the  sound  of  a 
drum  or  the  music  of  a  concert,  adore  the  sun,  moon,  and 


420 


PHRENOLOGY 


stars,  or  in  his  religion  be  guided  by  Christian  principles,  his 
special  faculties  are  universally  the  same. 

I  have  also  spoken  of  genius,  in  order  to  prove  that  edu- 
cation does  not  produce  our  faculties,  and  mentioned  that 
children  often  show  peculiar  faculties  before  they  have  re- 
ceived any  kind  of  instruction.  External  circumstances  are 
sometimes  very  unfavorable  to  the  exhibition  of  genius;  but 
gifted  individuals  do  not  always  wait  for  opportunities,  they 
even  make  them,  and  leave  parents,  professions,  and  all  be- 
hind, to  be  at  liberty  to  follow  their  natural  inclinations. 
Moses,  David,  Taraerlane,  and  Pope  Sixtus  the  Fifth,  were 
shepherds ;  Socrates,  Pythagoras,  Theophrastus,  Demosthenes, 
Moliere,  Rousseau,  and  a  thousand  others,  who  have  lived  to 
adorn  the  Avorld,  were  the  sons  of  artificers.  Geniuses  some- 
times surmount  great  difficulties,  and  vanquish  innumerable 
impediments,  before  their  character  prevails  and  they  assume 
their  natural  place.  Such  individuals,  prevented  by  circum- 
stances from  following  their  natural  bent,  still  find  their 
favorite  amusement  in  pursuing  it.  Hence  peasants,  shep- 
herds, and  artisans,  have  become  astronomers,  poets,  and 
philosophers ;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  kings,  and  prime  min- 
isters, employed  themselves  in  the  mechanical  arts;  all,  in- 
deed, unites  to  prove  the  innateness  of  the  primitive  mental 
faculties. 

Men  of  genius,  however,  have  been  said  to  form  a  particu- 
lar class,  and  to  be  incomparable  with  persons  whose  faculties 
are  of  middling  excellence. 

This,  however,  is  the  same  as  saying  that  hunger  and 
circulation  do  not  depend  on  organization,  because  all  have 
not  immoderate  appetite  and  fever;  or  that  the  mole  does 
not  see  with  its  eyes,  because  the  stag  sees  better ;  or  that  man 
has  no  smell,  since  the  dog's  is  superior.  But,  if  we  admit 
that  organization  causes  the  highest  degree  of  activity  of  the 
different  faculties,  the  lowest  degree  must  also  depend  on  it. 
Moreover,  the  greatest  genius  in  one  particular  is  often  very 
weak  in  others.  William  Crotch,  at  six  years  of  age,  aston- 
ished all  who  heard  him  by  his  musical  talents ;  but  in  every 
other  respect  he  was  a  child.    Csesar  could  never  have  become 


ORIGIN  OF  THE  MENTAL  DISPOSITIONS  421 


a  Horace  or  a  Virgil,  nor  Alexander  a  Homer.  IsTewton 
could  not  have  been  changed  into  so  great  a  poet  as  he  was 
an  astronomer;  nor  Milton  into  so  great  an  astronomer  as 
he  was  a  poet.  'Nslj,  Michael  Angelo  could  not  have  com- 
posed the  pictures  of  Raphael,  or  the  contrary;  nor  Albano 
those  of  Titian,  and  so  on. 

The  mental  faculties  again  must  be  innate,  since,  although 
essentially  the  same  in  both  sexes,  they  present  modifications 
in  each.  Some  are  more  energetic  in  women,  others  in  men. 
The  feelings  are,  in  general,  stronger  in  women,  the  intellec- 
tual faculties  more  active  in  men.  These  modifications  in- 
here naturally,  and  it  is  impossible  to  give  to  one  sex  the 
dispositions  of  the  other. 

We  may  add,  that  in  every  nation,  notwithstanding  the 
uniformity  of  its  opinions,  customs,  professions,  arts, 
sciences,  laws,  religion,  and  all  its  positive  institutions,  each 
individual  composing  it  differs  from  every  other  by  some 
peculiarity  of  character.  Each  has  greater  capacity  and 
inclination  in  one  than  in  another  direction,  and  even  in 
childhood  manifests  his  own  manner  of  thinking  and  feeling. 
Every  one  excuses  his  frailties  by  saying.  It  is  my  nature; 
it  is  stronger  than  I;  I  cannot  help  it,  &;c.  Even  brothers 
and  sisters  often  differ  extremely,  though  their  education 
is  uniform.  The  cause  of  difference  must,  therefore,  be 
internal. 

The  innateness  of  the  faculties  must  also  be  admitted,  be- 
cause there  is  a  direct  relation  between  their  manifestations 
and  a  certain  organic  apparatus. 

Einally,  if  we  believe  that  man  is  a  being  of  creation,  it  is 
only  rational  to  suppose  that  his  faculties  are  determinate 
and  ordained.  I  consequently,  with  all  these  considerations 
in  view,  contend  for  the  innateness  of  every  faculty  of  the 
mind.  But  here  it  is  of  importance  to  notice  an  observation 
of  Locke  upon  innateness.  He,  to  show  that  ideas  are  not 
innate,  stated  that  children  do  not  manifest  certain  qualities, 
and  that  different  nations  have  different,  nay,  opposite  prin- 
ciples of  morality.  This  position,  however,  in  relation  to  the 
innateness  of  ideas  and  moral  principles,  must  not  be  con- 


PHRENOLOGY 


founded  with  tlie  innateness  of  the  faculties.  sensation, 
no  idea,  no  principle,  is  innate.  Sensations  and  ideas  of 
external  objects  follow  from  external  impressions,  and  these 
being  accidental,  ideas  of  them  cannot  be  innate;  but  the 
faculties  which  perceive  impressions,  and  conceive  ideas,  are 
innate.  Thus  the  idea  of  a  stone,  plant,  or  animal,  is  not 
innate;  but  tliese  objects  make  impressions  on  the  senses, 
which  produce  sensations  or  ideas  in  the  mind,  and  both  the 
senses  and  the  mental  faculties  are  innate.  In  the  same  man- 
ner, sensations  and  ideas  of  external  and  accidental  events, 
and,  in  general,  determinate  actions  of  the  faculties,  are  not 
innate.  The  propensity  to  love,  and  not  the  object  of  love ; 
the  faculty  of  speaking, not  the  peculiar  language;  the  faculty 
of  comparing  and  judging,  not  the  determinate  judgment; 
the  faculty  of  poetry,  not  the  particular  poem,  &c.,  is  innate. 
There  is,  therefore,  a  great  difference  between  innate  faculties 
and  innate  ideas  and  sensations. 

It  is  also  true  that  children  do  not  manifest  all  the  facul- 
ties, but  we  cannot  from  this  conclude  that  these  are  not 
innate.  Birds  do  not  make  nests,  the  hamster  and  marmot 
do  not  collect  provisions,  the  swallow  does  not  migrate  imme- 
diately after  birth;  neither  do  animals  propagate,  nor  fe- 
males give  suck,  when  they  come  into  the  world ;  yet  all  these 
qualities  are  innate.  This  difficulty  is  easily  explained. 
Every  faculty  has  its  own  organ,  in  proportion  to  whose 
development  are  its  manifestations.  I^ow  in  childhood  sev- 
eral organs  are  very  little,  and  in  adult  age  very  greatly 
developed ;  and  while  some  are  proportionately  larger  in 
children  than  in  the  grown-up,  others  are  fully  developed  in 
both.  The  manifestations  of  the  faculties  being,  as  I  have 
stated,  always  proportionate  to  the  development  and  activity 
of  their  organs,  it  becomes  evident  why  some  of  them  do  not 
appear  in  infancy. 

Why  moral  principles  differ  in  different  nations  is  also 
obvious.  I  agree  with  Locke  that  they  are  not  innate,  but 
maintain  that  the  faculties  which  form  them  are.  I  shall 
afterwards  show  that  moral  principles  depend  on  several 
faculties,  and  vary  in  nations  in  consequence  of  different 


ORIGIN  OF  THE  MENTAL  DISPOSITIONS  433 

combinations  of  their  organs ;  the  justice  of  a  libertine  with- 
out benevolence  and  veneration  must  differ  entirely  from 
that  of  a  charitable,  modest,  and  continent  person.  The 
same  fundamental  faculties  exist  every  where,  but  their  mani- 
festations are  universally  modified.  Men  every  where  adore 
a  Supreme  Being;  they  every  where  have  marks  of  honor 
and  of  infamy ;  there  are  every  where  masters  and  servants ; 
all  nations  make  war,  whether  with  clubs  and  arrows,  or  with 
muskets  and  artillery;  and  every  where  the  dead  are 
lamented,  and  their  remembrance  cherished,  whether  it  be 
by  embalming  their  bodies,  by  putting  their  ashes  into  an 
urn,  or  by  depositing  their  remains  in  the  tomb.  Hence, 
though  the  functions  of  the  faculties  in  general  are  modified 
in  different  nations,  and  of  those  consequently  which  deter- 
mine the  moral  principles  also,  the  same  fundamental  powers 
still  appear  in  the  customs,  manners,  and  laws  of  all. 

An  essential  part  of  the  study  of  man,  therefore,  is  to 
show  that  his  nature  is  determinate,  that  all  his  faculties  are 
innate,  and  that  nature's  first  prerogative  is  to  maintain  the 
number  and  the  essence  of  his  special  powers,  whilst  she  per- 
mits many  modifications  of  the  functions  of  all,  in  the  same 
way  precisely  as  she  preserves  species,  but  continually 
sacrifices  individuals. 

The  second  right  of  nature  is  to  allow  more  or  less  activity 
to  individual  faculties  in  different  persons;  that  is,  she 
endows  all  with  the  same  faculties,  but  gives  them  in  very 
different  degrees.  Some  few  are  geniuses,  but  the  majority 
are  middling  in  all  respects,  l^ature  then  produces  genius, 
and  the  individual  dispositions  of  every  one. 

Finally,  nature  has  stamped  a  difference  upon  the  sexes: 
some  faculties  are  more  active  in  women,  others  in  men. 
Men  will  never  feel  like  women,  and  women  will  never  think 
like  men. 

These  are  facts  which  observation  proves.  Philosophers, 
therefore,  can  only  examine  how  nature  produces  such 
phenomena,  and  see  whether  it  is  possible  to  imitate  and 
to  assist  her. 

Thus,  the  principle  of  Phrenology — that  the  faculties  of 
the  mind  are  innate — is  indubitable. 


PHRENOLOGY 


SECTION  IV. 

The  Brain  is  indispensahle  to  mental  'phenomena. 

After  having  seen  what  nature  does  in  man,  let  us  inquire 
into  the  means  by  which  she  effects  it.  Religious  people 
commonly  believe  in  a  mere  supernatural  dispensation  of 
gifts;  but  there  cannot  be  a  doubt  of  natural  causes  also 
contributing  to  produce  the  phenomena  of  mind. 

I  may  follow  the  example  of  other  natural  philosophers, 
and  confine  myself  to  proving  a  relation  between  the  body 
and  the  manifestations  of  the  mind,  or,  I  may  endeavor  to 
determine  the  special  powers  of  the  mind  and  the  respective 
organs.  This  latter  task  has  been  accomplished  by  Phre- 
nology. Here  I  shall  only  show,  in  a  summary  way,  how 
reasoning  coincides  mth  observation.  It  is  important  duly 
to  appreciate  my  expressions  upon  this  subject :  I  do  not  say 
that  the  organization  produces  the  affective  and  intellectual 
faculties  of  man's  mind,  as  a  tree  brings  forth  fruit,  or  an 
animal  procreates  its  kind ;  I  only  say  that  organic  conditions 
are  necessary  to  the  manifestations  of  mind. 

I  never  venture  beyond  experience ;  and  therefore  consider 
the  faculties  of  the  mind  only  in  as  far  as  they  become  appar- 
ent by  the  organization.  [N'either  denying  nor  affirming 
any  thing  which  cannot  be  verified  by  experiment,  I  make 
no  researches  on  the  lifeless  body  nor  on  the  soul  alone,  but 
on  man  as  a  living  agent.  I  never  question  what  the  affective 
and  intellectual  faculties  may  be  in  themselves,  do  not 
attempt  to  explain  how  the  body  and  soul  are  united  and  exer- 
cise a  mutual  influence,  nor  examine  what  the  soul  can  effect 
without  the  body.  The  soul  may  be  united  to  the  body  at 
the  moment  of  conception  or  afterwards ;  it  may  be  different 
in  every  individual,  or  be  of  the  same  kind  in  all ;  it  may  be 
an  emanation  from  God,  or  something  else.  Whatever  meta- 
physicians and  theologians  may  decide  in  regard  to  these 
various  points,  the  position,  that  manifestations  of  the  facul- 
ties of  the  mind  depend,  in  this  life,  on  organization,  cannot 
be  shaken.  Let  us  then  consider  the  proofs  which  reasoning 
affords  of  this  principle  of  Phrenology. 


DEPENDENCE  OF  THE  MENTAL  PHENOMENA 


i.  Difference  of  the  Sexes. 

The  faculties  of  the  mind  are  modified  in  the  sexes :  some 
are  more  energetic  in  men,  others  in  women.  Do  then  tlie 
souls  of  men  and  women  differ,  or  is  it  more  probable,  that 
the  faculties  are  modified  because  their  organs  or  instruments 
vary  ?  Phrenology  shows  that  certain  parts  of  the  brain  are 
more  developed  in  men,  others  more  in  women;  and  thus 
renders  the  peculiarities  in  the  mental  manifestations  of  each, 
easily  explicable.  There  are,  however,  many  instances  in 
which  the  intellectual  faculties  of  women  resemble  those  of 
men,  and  the  contrary. 

ii.  Individvxdity  of  every  Person. 

The  mental  faculties  are  modified  in  every  individual. 
^vTow,  is  it  probable  that  the  soul  differs  universally,  or  is  it 
more  likely,  that  as  the  whole  human  kind  has  descended 
from  an  original  pair,  all  modifications  of  the  faculties  may 
be  explained  by  differences  in  the  organs  on  which  each 
respectively  depends?  Like  species  of  animals,  and  man 
also,  have  essentially  the  same  corporeal  structure;  there  is 
merely  difference  of  proportion  and  development  in  the 
various  parts  of  which  the  body  is  composed;  and  these  dif- 
ferences in  the  organs  produce  corresponding  varieties  in  the 
functions  attached  to  them. 

iii.  Ages. 

Mental  manifestations  are  modified  by  age.  Either  the 
soul,  or  its  instruments,  therefore,  must  produce  these  modi- 
fied manifestations.  It  is  ascertained  that  certain  faculties 
appear  early  in  life,  or  at  a  later  period,  according  as  the 
peculiar  organs  of  each  are  developed. 

The  same  law  holds  in  both  affective  and  intellectual 
faculties:  the  manifestations  of  all  are  not  simultaneous. 
Several  of  both  orders  appear  in  infancy,  others  not  before 
maturer  years;  several,  too,  disappear  earlier,  whilst  others 
endure  till  the  end  of  life.    l^Tow  as  we  know  that  manifes- 


me 


PHRENOLOGY 


tations  of  the  mental  powers  always  accord  with  certain 
organic  conditions,  it  is  impossible  to  overlook  their 
dependence  on  organization. 

iv.  Influence  of  Physical  Conditions. 

All  that  disorders,  weakens,  or  excites  the  organization  of 
the  nervous  system,  influences  especially  the  manifestation 
of  the  mental  faculties  also.  It  is  generally  observed  that 
organs  are  enfeebled  if  their  growth  be  very  rapid;  their 
functions  too,  are,  in  consequence,  less  energetic.  This  is 
chiefly  remarkable  in  the  climateric  years,  or  periods  of  in- 
crease; a  knowledge  of  which  is  so  very  important  in  prac- 
tical medicine.  Vegetables  are  known  to  increase  particu- 
larly at  two  periods;  in  the  spring,  and  in  the  middle  of 
summer.  The  growth  of  the  human  body  is  also  more  rapid 
at  certain  times  than  at  others.  'Now  rapid  growth  weakens 
the  organs,  both  of  vegetative  and  animal  life,  and  conse- 
quently the  functions  they  perform  respectively.  Girls  who 
grow  too  suddenly  turn  pale,  chlorotic,  and  consumptive,  &c. 
Individuals,  therefore,  during  the  periods  of  growth,  are  not 
flt  for  active  business,  and  ought  not  to  exercise  their  intel- 
lectual faculties  much.  Rest  is  necessary  till  the  organs 
acquire  maturity,  when  all  the  faculties  of  the  mind  and  body 
will  resume  their  energy.  Organs  of  particular  faculties  are 
occasionally  too  soon  developed,  and  are  then  apt  to  be  exer- 
cised overmuch.  Incurable  exhaustion  often  results  from 
this,  and  early  genius  is  nipped  in  the  bud. 

Adult  men  and  animals  are  still  subjected  to  variable 
degrees  of  excitement  from  seasons,  temperature,  food,  and 
especially  from  particular  laws  to  which  the  organization 
is  subjected.  We  see  animals  resume  and  abandon  at  differ- 
ent periods,  their  instinct  to  sing,  to  build,  to  gather  provi- 
sions, to  live  solitarily  or  in  society,  to  migrate,  &c. ;  and  the 
faculties  of  man  do  not  always  act  with  the  same  degree  of 
energy.  Who  can  overlook  the  influence  of  such  evacuations 
as  the  catamenia,  hemorrhoids,  &c. ;  or  of  pregnancy,  digestion, 
fasting,  and  whatever  exhausts  the  corporeal  powers  ?  Who 
can  deny  the  effects  of  disease  upon  the  manifestation  of  our 


DEPENDENCE  OF  THE  MENTAL  PHENOMENA  427 


faculties ;  or  of  external  and  internal  excitements,  as  of  agree- 
able impressions,  fine  weather,  music,  dancing,  &c.  ?  ISTow 
all  these  act  upon  the  organization  only;  manifestation 
of  the  mental  faculties  consequently  depends  on  the 
organization. 

Exceedingly  defective  mental  powers  have  been  known  to 
grow  very  active  when  excited  by  external  or  internal  causes. 
Haller  relates  the  case  of  an  idiot,  who  happening  to  be 
wounded  on  the  head,  manifested  great  understanding  so  long 
as  the  wound  remained  open,  but  who,  as  soon  as  this  healed 
up,  fell  into  his  former  stupidity.  He  speaks  of  another 
patient  whose  eye  being  inflamed,  saw  perfectly  during  the 
night  whilst  the  inflammation  lasted.  Father  Mabillan,  in 
his  infancy,  gave  little  promise  of  superior  abilities;  but, 
having  received  a  blow  on  his  head,  he,  from  that  moment, 
displayed  talents.  I  have  heard  of  a  boy,  who,  at  the  age 
of  fourteen,  seemed  incapable  of  improvement ;  having  fallen 
down  stairs  one  day,  however,  and  got  several  wounds  in  his 
head,  he  afterwards  began  to  excel  in  his  studies.  I  have 
seen  a  girl,  nine  years  old,  whose  right  arm  grew  gradually 
weak  and  almost  paralytic,  in  consequence  of  a  blow  on  the 
same  side  of  the  head;  her  lower  jaw  trembled  incessantly, 
and  she  was  often  convulsed;  but  her  intellectual  faculties 
had  acquired  great  energy  and  perfection ;  her  whole  deport- 
ment indeed,  was  exceedingly  imposing.  I  shall  mention 
only  one  other  case  of  this  kind  from  the  Edinburgh  Eeview,* 
in  an  article  upon  the  Retreat,  an  institution  near  York  for 
insane  persons  of  the  Society  of  Friends :  ^  A  young  woman, 
who  was  employed  as  a  domestic  servant  by  the  father  of  the 
relater  w^hen  he  was  a  boy,  became  insane,  and,  at  length, 
sunk  into  a  state  of  perfect  idiocy.  In  this  condition  she 
remained  for  many  years,  when  she  was  attacked  by  a  typhus 
fever;  and  my  friend,  having  then  practised  some  time,  at- 
tended her.  He  was  surprised  to  observe,  as  the  fever 
advanced,  a  development  of  the  mental  powers.  During  that 
period  of  the  fever  when  others  are  delirious,  this  patient  was 

*No.  XLV.  p.  197. 


428 


PHRENOLOGY 


entirely  rational.  She  recognised,  in  the  face  of  her  medical 
attendant,  the  son  of  her  old  master,  whom  she  had  known 
so  many  years  before,  and  she  related  many  circumstances 
respecting  his  family  and  others,  which  had  happened  to 
herself  in  her  earlier  days.  But,  alas !  it  was  only  the  gleam 
of  reason:  as  the  fever  abated,  clouds  again  enveloped  the 
mind;  she  sunk  into  her  former  deplorable  state,  and  re- 
mained in  it  until  her  death,  which  happened  a  few  years 
afterwards.'  These  facts  are  positive,  and  there  can  be  no 
doubt  of  similar  causes  influencing  the  faculties  of  the  mind 
surprisingly;  yet  they  can  only  act  immediately  upon  the 
organization.  We  must  perforce  conclude,  that  when  physi- 
cal and  organic  causes  excite  the  most  impudent  lascivious- 
ness,  the  most  arrogant  pride,  despair  which  rejects  all  conso- 
lation, and  so  on,  these  various  manifestations  depend  on  the 
organization. 

V.  Sleeping  and  Dreaming. 

The  states  of  watching,  sleeping,  and  dreaming,  also  prove 
the  manifestations  of  the  mind  dependent  on  organization; 
for  corporeal  organs  can  alone  be  fatigued  and  exhausted. 
'Now  it  is  known  that  mental  operations  cannot  be  continued 
incessantly,  that  rest  is  indispensable,  and  that  a  regular 
recurrence  of  that  inactive  state  of  the  mental  faculties  called 
sleep,  is  necessary  to  enable  them  to  display  their  perfect 
energies. 

If  single  organs  be  by  any  cause  excited,  and  enter  into 
action  while  the  others  are  inactive,  partial  sensations  and 
ideas,  or  dreams,  arise.  Dreams,  then,  are  almost  always 
the  result  of  certain  material  causes,  and  are  conformable 
to  the  age  and  organic  constitution  of  the  dreamer.  Men 
and  women  of  an  irritable  habit  of  body,  find  difficulties  and 
endless  impediments  in  their  dreams,  and  generally  suffer 
pain,  and  feel  anxiety  and  alarm.  This  constant  relation 
between  dreams  and  bodily  frame,  which  has  been  verified 
by  an  infinity  of  observations,  proves  further  that  the  mental 
manifestations  depend  on  organization. 


DEPENDENCE  OF  THE  MENTAL  PHENOMENA  429 


vi.  Exercise. 

The  possibility  of  exercising  and  of  training  the  faculties 
of  the  mind,  also  shows  their  dependence  on  the  organization ; 
for  that  an  immaterial  being  can  be  exercised  is  inconceivable. 

vii.  Relation  hetween  the  Brain  and  the  manifestations  of 

the  Mind. 

The  preceding  arguments  are  founded  on  reasoning,  and 
prove  that  all  manifestations  of  the  mind  depend  on  organic 
conditions.  In  the  first  part  of  this  work  it  is  demon- 
strated, that  individual  faculties  manifest  themselves  by 
means  of  particular  cerebral  parts,  and  that  the  faculties 
appear,  increase  in  strength,  and  diminish  in  vigor,  in  pro- 
portion as  the  organs  on  which  they  depend  are  developed, 
increase  in  size,  and  shrink  again.  The  brain  of  the  new 
born  child  scarcely  shows  any  traces  of  fibres;  these  appear, 
become  firmer  by  degrees,  and  attain  perfection  between  the 
twentieth  and  fortieth  year.  As  years  accumulate,  its  con- 
volutions, which  had  been  plump,  become  flabby,  and  are  less 
closely  packed  together. 

In  conformity  with  the  state  of  the  brain  at  birth,  animal 
life  is  confined  to  spontaneous  motions,  to  the  perception  of 
hunger  and  thirst,  to  some  obscure  sensation  of  pain  and 
pleasure,  and  to  an  imperfect  state  of  the  external  senses. 
By  degrees  the  number  and  energy  of  the  affective  and  intel- 
lectual faculties  augment,  and  the  child  begins  to  acquire 
knowledge  and  determinate  ideas  of  external  objects. 
Through  the  periods  of  boyhood  and  adolescence  the  faculties 
gradually  gain  strength;  and,  in  manhood,  they  at  length 
manifest  the  greatest  degree  of  energy.  From  this  state  of 
perfection,  however,  they  soon  begin  to  decline;  and,  in 
extreme  old  age,  the  propensities  are  blunted,  the  sentiments 
weakened,  and  the  intellectual  faculties  almost  or  entirely 
annihilated. 

If  the  organs  of  the  faculties,  however,  do  not  follow  the 
■usual  order  of  increase,  but  be  either  precocious  or  tardy,  their 
respective  functions  are  also  manifested  with  corresponding 


430 


PHRENOLOGY 


variations.  If  the  intellectual  faculties  are  often  more 
energetic  in  rickety  children  than  beseems  their  age,  their 
brains  will  also  be  found  extraordinarily  developed  or  irri- 
table. Independently  of  all  disease,  however,  particular 
portions  of  the  brain  are  occasionally  developed  at  too 
early  a  period,  and  then  their  functions  likewise  appear 
prematurely. 

On  the  other  hand,  when  parts  of  the  brain  or  its  whole 
mass  arrives  very  late  at  maturity,  the  mental  imperfections 
of  childhood  remain  longer  than  usual,  sometimes  till  about 
the  tenth  or  twelfth  year,  so  that  parents  despair  of  the 
rationality  of  their  children.  After  this  age,  however,  the 
cerebral  organs  will  often  take  on  a  particular  growth,  and 
the  faculties  then  appear  with  great  vigor.  One  of  the  most 
distinguished  physicians  at  Berlin,  when  ten  years  old,  could 
not  use  his  organs  of  speech,  and  Gessner,  at  the  same  age, 
had  made  such  slender  progress  in  his  studies,  that  his  pre- 
ceptor declared  him  half  an  idiot ;  yet  it  is  known  how  famous 
he  became  afterwards. 

If  the  growth  of  the  cerebral  organs  be  incomplete,  the 
faculties  of  the  mind  are  equally  defective.  It  is  impossible 
to  determine  with  exactness  the  degree  of  organic  develop- 
ment necessary  to  the  due  manifestation  of  the  mental 
powers ;  for  this  depends  not  on  the  size  of  the  organs  alone, 
but  on  their  peculiar  constitution  also.  A  very  small  brain, 
however,  is  always  accompanied  with  imbecility. 

Children  have  sometimes  the  same  organic  constitution  of 
brain  as  their  parents,  and  then  manifest  precisely  similar 
affective  and  intellectual  faculties.  Characteristic  forms  of 
head  are  often  transmitted  from  generation  to  generation; 
and  thus  are  mental  faculties  propagated  in  families  during 
centuries.  It  is  an  acknowledged  fact,  that  children  who 
resemble  each  other,  or  their  parents,  manifest  similar  facul- 
ties, making  allowances  for  difference  of  age  and  sex.  I  have 
seen  twin-boys  so  like  each  other  that  it  was  almost  impossible 
to  distinguish  them;  their  inclinations  and  talents  were  also 
strikingly  similar.  Two  other  twin  sisters  are  very  differ- 
ent; the  muscular  system  in  the  one  being  most  developed. 


PRACTICAL  CONSIDERATIONS 


431 


the  nervous  in  the  other;  and  while  the  first  has  little 
understanding,  the  second  is  eminently  talented. 

To  conclude  this  point,  I  say  that,  as  the  peculiar  organs 
of  the  affective  and  intellectual  faculties  can  positively  be 
demonstrated,  it  is  impossible  to  deny  the  dependence  of 
mental  phenomena  on  the  organization. 

The  principle  of  Phrenology,  therefore,  that  the  manifes- 
tations of  the  affective  and  intellectual  faculties  of  the  mind 
depend  on  the  brain,  is  also  ascertained. 


SECTION  V. 

Practical  Considerations. 

In  every  science  the  theoretical  must  be  distinguished  from 
the  practical  part.  The  former  considers  principles,  the 
latter  applies  them.  Both,  however,  must  be  in  harmony 
with  each  other.  Saying  that  experience  contradicts  a 
theory,  only  means  that  the  theory  was  inexact,  and  not 
founded  on  sufficient  experience.  But  it  does  not  indicate 
that  no  theory  or  principle  should  be  established.  Farther, 
I  think  with  Socrates,  that  knowing  and  acting  ought  to  be 
inseparable,  and  that  useful  knowledge  is  alone  worth  attend- 
ing to ;  no  philosophy,  therefore,  which  cannot  be  applied  in 
social  life  deserves  to  have  a  student.  The  knowledge^  of 
the  human  mind  is  interesting  to  physicians  in  reference 
to  insanity,  and  to  teachers  and  legislators  in  determining 
the  means  of  perfecting  mankind.  I  have  treated  these 
subjects  in  separate  volumes ;  T  shall  here  add  some  consider- 
ations which  concern  us  in  our  social  intercourse,  and  which 
may  contribute  to  further  general  happiness. 


432 


PHRENOLOGY 


CHAPTER  I. 

On  the  Modifications  of  the  Affective  and  Intellectual 
Functions. 

In  philosopliy  it  is  commonly  admitted,  tliat  the  world  is 
different  to  every  species  of  animals,  and  even  to  every  in- 
dividual of  the  same  species.  This  is  easily  understood, 
when  we  consider  that  all  the  beings  of  nature  are  in  relation 
one  to  another,  and  that  these,  endowed  with  consciousness, 
recognise  this;  in  other  terms,  perceive  various  impressions 
made  on  them  by  other  beings.  'Now,  it  is  evident  that  each 
must  perceive  impressions  in  proportion  to  the  number  and 
energy  of  its  sentient  faculties.  Hence  it  results  that  the 
world  differs  to  different  species  of  animals ;  that  it  is  essen- 
tially the  same,  but  modified  to  individuals  of  the  same 
kinds ;  and  that  man,  who  unites  all  the  faculties  distributed 
among  the  other  living  tribes,  and  possesses  some  peculiarly 
and  alone,  has,  so  to  speak,  the  most  extended  world,  though 
this  be  still  modified  to  individuals,  as  it  is  among  animals  of 
the  same  species. 

I  shall  now  investigate  the  modifications  of  the  faculties 
more  in  detail.  First,  then,  the  manifestations  of  every  fac- 
ulty are  greatly  modified  in  different  kinds  of  beings.  This 
appears  from  the  functions  of  those  faculties,  both  of  vegeta- 
tive and  animal  life,  which  are  common  to  man  and  animals. 
The  liver  secretes  bile,  the  kidneys  secrete  urine,  the  salivary 
glands  saliva,  &c. ;  yet  these  secretions  vary  in  different  kinds 
of  animals ;  and  are  even  modified  in  individuals  of  the  same 
species.  The  power  of  motion  is  modified  in  different  kinds 
of  animals,  and  the  consistence,  texture,  and  taste  of  its 
organs,  the  muscles,  also  vary.  The  external  senses  offer 
modifications  according  to  species  and  individuals.  ISTow, 
are  the  faculties  attached  to  the  brain  also  modified  in 
different  animals  ? 

If  we  examine  their  applications,  there  can  remain  no 
doubt  of  it.  The  function  of  the  cerebellum  must  be  modi- 
fied in  every  species,  because  the  individuals  of  each  prefer 


PRACTICAL  CONSIDERATIONS 


433 


others  of  their  o^vn  kind.  Sometimes  also  it  is  quite  inor- 
dinate. Modifications  of  philoprogenitiveness  are  not  less 
certain.  Animals  love  the  young  of  their  own  more  than 
those  of  other  kinds.  Inhabitiveness  must  be  modified  in 
animals  which  live  in  the  water,  on  dry  land,  in  the  air,  and 
at  greater  or  less  elevations.  Adhesiveness  presents  many 
modifications  in  solitary  and  in  social  animals.  Destruc- 
tiveness  and  constructiveness  are  much  modified ;  all  animals 
do  not  kill  in  one  way,  and  the  nests  of  all  birds  are  not  built 
in  the  same  manner.  The  song  of  birds,  and  the  instinct 
to  migrate,  are  modified  universally.  Similar  observations 
might  readily  be  made  in  regard  to  the  whole  of  the  propen- 
sities, sentiments,  and  intellectual  faculties.  Thus  it  is  cer- 
tain that  all  are  modified  both  in  species  and  in  individuals. 
'Nsij,  it  seems  to  me  that  there  are  idiosyncrasies  of  all  the 
mental  functions,  as  well  as  of  digestion  and  the  external 
senses.  Certain  stomachs  do  not  digest  some  particular  sub- 
stances; some  individuals  cannot  bear  certain  odors,  savors, 
colors,  and  sounds;  and  some  cannot  endure  certain  modes 
of  feeling  or  thinking,  certain  successions  of  tones,  of  ideas, 
and  so  on.  The  same  thing  is  approved  or  disapproved  of  by 
different  people  according  to  the  manner  in  which  it  is 
proposed. 

Another  cause  of  the  modified  manifestations  of  the  facul- 
ties is  their  mutual  influence.  I  only  consider  the  human 
kind  at  present.  It  is  indubitable  that  if  two  or  more  per- 
sons do  the  same  thing,  it  will  be  done  in  a  modified  way  by 
every  one.  Inasmuch  as  the  faculties  are  essentially  the 
same,  the  same  actions  are  observed  in  all  mankind:  nay,  in 
as  far  as  nations  have  similar  predominating  faculties,  there 
prevails  a  certain  analogy  in  their  actions  and  manners,  be- 
cause these  are  effects  of  the  special  faculties  and  their 
combinations;  it  is  only  their  modifications  and  different 
combinations  that  produce  varieties  in  action.  Every  faculty 
may  act  combined  with  one,  or  two,  or  more.  The  number 
of  binary,  ternary,  and  more  multiplied  combinations  is, 
therefore,  immense,  especially  if  it  be  remembered  that  each 
may  be  modified  in  itself,  and  may  be  more  or  less  energetic. 

28 


434 


PHRENOLOGY 


As  this  subject,  however,  is  of  the  highest  importance  in 
anthropology,  and  indispensable  to  the  elucidation  of  my 
ideas,  I  shall  treat  it  somewhat  in  detail,  and  choose  examples 
easily  understood,  and  interesting  to  every  one. 

Physical  love  alone,  combined  with  adhesiveness,  philo- 
progenitiveness,  benevolence  and  veneration,  or  with  the  pro- 
pensities to  fight  and  to  destroy,  acts  very  differently.  Two 
affectionate  mothers,  of  whom  the  one  has  philoprogenitive- 
ness  combined  with  much  self-esteem,  much  firmness,  a  great 
propensity  to  fight,  and  little  benevolence;  and  the  second, 
philoprogenitiveness  combined  with  adhesiveness,  benevo- 
lence, veneration,  and  very  little  self-esteem  and  propensity 
to  fight,  will  love  their  children  in  very  different  manners. 
Determinate  or  individual  justice  varies  extremely.  Justice 
gives  laws  universally,  but  these  are  modified  according  to 
the  particular  and  combined  faculties  of  legislators.  What 
a  difference  in  the  characters  of  Lycurgus  and  Solon;  but 
what  a  difference  in  their  precepts  also! 

Man  universally  believes  in  one  or  several  Gods ;  but  what 
a  difference  between  the  Gods  of  different  nations,  and  even 
of  different  men !  The  Gods  seem  to  be  every  where  repre- 
sented with  faculties  conformable  to  those  of  the  nations  by 
whom  they  are  adored,  or  of  the  religious  legislators  who  have 
commanded  in  their  name.  The  sages  of  the  Orient  thought 
God  the  centre  of  light  and  the  source  of  all  wisdom:  but 
the  Scythes  took  him  for  a  valiant  hero,  constantly  armed  and 
occupied  vdth.  battles.  The  ancient  Egyptians  supposed  their 
Supreme  Divinity  to  have  little  eyes,  brown  skin  and  dark 
hair,  whilst  the  natives  in  the  IN^orth  fancied  him  to  be  of 
exceedingly  white  complexion  with  blue  eyes  and  fair  long 
hair.  The  Caffres  imagined  him  to  be  black  with  a  broad 
flat  forehead.  The  God  of  the  Jews,  particularly  of  Joshua, 
and  the  Deity  of  the  true  Christian,  are  extremely  modified. 
If  different  individuals,  even  of  the  same  religion,  be  asked 
their  opinion  about  God,  we  observe  great  diversities.  St. 
Peter  and  St.  John  speak,  the  former  mth  fear,  the  latter 
with  meekness  and  love,  of  the  same  Christian  Deity.  The 
holy  spirit  did  not  so  guide  the  Apostles  as  to  suspend  the 


PRACTICAL  CONSIDERATIONS 


435 


peculiarities  of  their  minds.  If  we  examine  the  opinions 
of  the  reformers,  Luther,  Calvin,  Zwingli,  and  others,  do  we 
not  always  observe  the  faculties  of  the  individuals  ?  Who, 
for  instance,  finds  not  in  the  principles  of  Melancthon,  the 
mildness  and  moderation  of  his  character?  A  person  en- 
dowed with  veneration,  combined  with,  charity,  attachment, 
and  understanding,  without  pride,  destructiveness,  and 
amativeness,  will  establish  a  system  of  religious  observance 
quite  different  from  his  who  is  endowed  with  veneration  com- 
bined with  covetiveness,  pride,  amativeness,  and  destructive- 
ness, -without  charity  and  understanding.  Every  one  who 
dares  to  think  for  himself,  interprets  the  Bible  according  to 
his  own  feelings.  The  ambitious  contrives  to  find  in  it 
doctrines  which  favor  his  love  of  dominion;  the  timid  dis- 
covers a  gloomy  system ;  and  the  mystical  and  fanatical  finds 
a  visionary  theology. 

The  Evil  Spirit  or  Devil,  too,  was  represented  with  forms 
quite  opposite  to  those  of  God.  The  Romans,  Celtic  nations 
and  Germans  saw  him  black,  whilst  the  ancient  Egyptians 
painted  their  Tj^hon  with  a  red  beard  and  similar  hair, 
almost  as  the  Germans  formed  their  good  principle. 

Music  is  different  in  every  nation.  We  easily  distinguish 
that  of  the  Italians,  Germans,  French,  Scots,  &c.  Even  the 
music  of  each  composer  offers  something  particular,  and 
connoisseurs  distinguish  that  of  Gluck,  Mozart,  Haydn,  and 
others.  It  is  the  same  with  painting.  All  painters  are 
color ists,  but  there  is  a  difference  in  their  modes  of  coloring ; 
and  every  one  as  regularly  prefers  certain  colors  as  subjects. 
Hence  the  difference  in  the  pictures  of  Titian,  Rembrandt, 
Paul  Veronese,  Albano,  and  others.  The  canvas  of  Titian 
shows  reflection  and  combination ;  that  of  Paul  Veronese  his 
fondness  for  architecture ;  Albano  again  betrays  his  amorous 
inclination ;  and  so  of  the  rest.  The  same  object,  represented 
by  various  masters  of  painting,  will  always  show  the  peculi- 
arities of  every  artist's  mind.  How  different,  for  instance, 
the  Virgins  of  Raphael,  Correggio,  Guido,  Titian,  Murillo, 
Carlo  Dolce,  Caravaggio,  Rubens,  &c. 


436 


PHRENOLOGY 


The  languages  of  different  nations  present  fine  examples  of 
modifications  produced  by  the  mutual  infiuence  of  the  facul- 
ties. I  even  admit  as  a  principle,  that  the  spirit  of  its 
language  proclaims  the  predominating  faculties  of  a  nation. 
I  have  spoken  of  a  faculty  v^hich  learns  and  knows  the  signs 
invented  by  the  superior  intellectual  faculties,  to  express  the 
feelings  and  ideas.  It  is  evident,  therefore,  that  a  nation 
with  many  feelings  or  ideas  must  have  many  signs,  and 
that  the  number  of  any  one  kind  of  these  indicates  the  energy 
of  the  faculty  they  represent.  Thus,  the  Greek  and  French 
languages  have  a  greater  number  of  tenses  than  the  German 
and  English.  The  Erench,  on  the  contrary,  is  poor  in  ex- 
pressions of  reflection  and  of  sentiment;  moreover,  it  has 
few  that  are  figurative;  while  the  German  is  rich  in  all  of 
these,  and  has  also  many  more  signs  of  disjunction.  French- 
men have  the  organs  of  individuality  and  eventuality  very- 
much  developed,  and  are  therefore  fond  of  facts;  but  their 
faculties  of  comparison  and  causality  are  commonly  smaller. 
In  consequence  of  this,  the  French  Institute  does  not  admit 
analogies  as  proofs ;  these  consist  according  to  it  only  in  facts. 
The  Germans,  on  the  other  hand,  are  fond  of  analogies,  per- 
haps too  much  so,  for  they  compare  and  wish  to  explain  every- 
thing. French  expressions  are  individual,  without  any  com- 
parison; therefore,  similar  sounds  denote  many  different 
objects.  From  this  it  appears  that  the  discriminating  facul- 
ties are  not  very  active  in  Frenchmen.  The  same  deficiency 
is  evident  in  the  very  different  names  they  give  to  very 
similar  objects.  The  German  and  English  tongues  are  more 
systematic  than  the  French.  The  common  language  of  Ger- 
many is  even  conformable  to  the  system  of  Linnaeus.  Whilst 
the  French  say,  houvreuil,  chardonneret,  'pinson,  &c.,  the 
Germans  and  English  preserve  the  generic  name  fink,  or 
■finch,  and  join  to  it  a  sign  of  distinction.  In  the  same  way, 
while  the  French  say,  rasoir,  couteau,  canif,  serpeMe,  &;c. ; 
in  German  and  English  the  generic  name  messer  or  Icnife 
is  retained,  and  a  sign  of  particular  destination  affixed,  as 
feder-messer,  or  pen-lcnife;  tafel-messer,  or  tahle-hnife;  &c. 
For  this  reason  also,  the  number  of  roots  of  the  French  Ian- 


PRACTICAL  CONSIDERATIONS 


437 


guage  is  much  more  considerable,  though  that  of  its  words 
be  much  smaller  than  those  of  the  German.  Another  proof 
that  the  French  language  is  very  unsystematic,  lies  in  the 
fact  of  its  very  often  having  a  substantive  without  its  deriva- 
tive adjective,  or  the  contrary,  to  designate  the  same  idea. 
These  illustrations  show  the  evident  influence  of  the  faculties 
generally,  in  establishing  languages.  Thus  the  number  and 
nature  of  signs  is  in  relation  to  the  special  powers  of  the  mind 
which  invent  them.  The  faculties  of  individuality  and  even- 
tuality being  the  first  active  in  children,  we  may  understand 
why  nouns  and  verbs  are  soonest  employed,  and  constitute 
almost  the  whole  artificial  language  of  infancy ;  and  why  all 
words  may  be  reduced  etymologically  to  these  signs.  By 
degrees,  as  other  faculties  become  active,  other  significations 
of  signs  are  discovered,  even  though  their  roots  remain  the 
same. 

The  construction  of  languages  proves  also  the  modified 
manners  of  thinking  of  different  nations.  The  French  like 
facts,  and  direct  their  attention  to  them,  without  first  consid- 
ering causes.  It  is  natural,  indeed,  to  begin  with  the  sub- 
ject, then  to  join  the  action  of  the  subject,  and  after  this  to 
express  other  circumstances.  This  the  French  do  regularly. 
If  cause  and  effect  be  considered,  they  always  begin  with  the 
effect,  and  relate  the  cause  afterwards.  The  Germans  pro- 
ceed in  a  very  different  manner,  and  their  tongue  in  this 
respect  requires  much  more  attention  than  the  French.  It 
also  ordinarily  begins  with  the  subject;  then  follow  expres- 
sions of  the  relation  between  subject  and  object,  both  of  which 
are  mentioned ;  and  lastly,  the  action  of  the  subject  upon  the 
object  is  considered.  If  an  effect  and  its  cause,  again,  are 
spoken  of,  the  cause  is  commonly  denoted  first  and  the  effect 
after  it.  Certain  languages  are  known  to  admit  of  a  great 
number  of  inversions,  others  of  very  few.  The  former 
appear  to  me  the  more  logical;  for  it  seems  natural  that 
attention  should  be  given  first  to  the  most  important  object. 
The  French  language  begins  almost  always  with  the  fact: 
hence  French  understandings  consider  the  fact  as  the  most 
important. 


438 


PHRENOLOGY 


From  these  observations  -apoii  language,  we  may  conceive 
that  the  spirit  of  no  one  language  can  become  general.  I  am 
of  opinion  that  the  spirit  of  the  French  will  never  please 
Germans;  and  that  Frenchmen,  on  the  other  hand,  will 
always  dislike  that  of  the  German ;  because  the  manner  of 
thinking,  and  the  enchainment  of  ideas,  are  quite  dissimilar 
in  the  two  nations. 

I  am  farther  convinced  that  different  philosophical  systems 
have  resulted  from  various  combinations  of  faculties  in  their 
authors.  He  who  has  much  of  the  faculty  of  eventuality 
will  never  neglect  facts.  He  who  possesses  less  of  it,  and  a 
great  deal  of  the  faculties  of  comparison  and  causality,  will 
begin  to  philosophize  with  causes,  and  construct  the  world, 
instead  of  observing  its  existence.  He,  on  the  contrary,  in 
whom  the  faculty  of  causality  is  less  active,  will  reject  this 
mode  of  consideration,  and  may  think  it  unphilosophical  to 
admit  a  primitive  cause.  Another  who  has  individuality  very 
small  may  doubt  of  external  existence.  The  philosopher 
in  whom  the  superior  sentiments  are  very  energetic,  directs 
his  mind  principally  to  moral  principles,  and  then  we  have 
various  systems  of  virtue  and  morality,  according  to  the 
predominance  of  one  or  other  of  these.  One  makes  virtue 
consist  in  prudence,  another  in  benevolence.  One  considers 
all  actions  as  done  from  love  of  praise  or  from  vanity;  an- 
other from  self-esteem,  from  love  of  self-preservation,  self- 
interest  and  so  on.  Philosophers  as  well  as  other  men  think 
differently,  and  each  is  also  apt  to  consider  his  ov/n  manner 
of  thinking  and  feeling  as  the  best;  his  consciousness  tells 
him  it  is  so;  but  every  one  errs  who  assumes  himself  as  a 
measure  of  the  absolute  nature  of  man.  In  examining 
human  nature,  we  ought  to  make  abstraction  of  ourselves 
entirely;  we  ought  never  to  admit  in  man  a  feeling  as  the 
strongest,  and  a  manner  of  thinking  as  the  best,  solely  because 
they  are  conformable  to  our  own ;  nor  ought  we  ever  to  deny 
in  others  what  we  ourselves  do  not  possess.  We  should 
observe  mental  phenomena  in  the  conviction  that  all  the 
essential  kinds  or  particular  faculties  inhere  in  human 
nature;  and  we  should  observe  how  and  under  what  cir- 


PRACTICAL  CONSIDERATIONS 


439 


ciimstances  each  faculty  can  and  does  act.  In  this  way  I 
think  it  possible  to  determine  the  absolute  nature  of  man, 
and  to  become  acquainted  with  the  infinity  of  modifications 
occurring  in  individuals. 

It  would  be  easy  to  quote  examples  in  the  case  of  every 
faculty,  to  prove  the  mutual  influence  of  the  whole;  but  I 
shall  only  dwell  on  this  principle,  in  reference  to  abuses  of 
the  faculties,  for  the  sake  of  showing  how  peculiarities  may 
be  explained  which  seem  inconceivable  to  those  who  know 
nothing  of  Phrenology. 

Suppose,  for  instance,  we  are  told  that  of  two  inveterate 
thieves  presented  to  us,  one  has  never  scrupled  to  rob  churches 
whilst  the  other  has,  the  robber  of  the  church  may  be  distin- 
guished from  the  other:  he  who  has  the  smallest  organ  of 
veneration  is  the  thief  of  the  holy  articles.  Suppose  we  see 
two  women  in  confinement,  and  are  told  that  one  has  stolen, 
and  that  the  other  has  concealed  the  stolen  things ;  the  former 
will  have  the  organ  of  acquisitiveness  larger,  and  that  of  the 
propensity  to  conceal  less,  while  the  second  will  have  the 
organ  of  secretiveness  much  developed.  If  we  would  detect 
the  chief  of  a  robber  band,  we  examine  the  organs  of  self- 
esteem  and  determinateness.  We  may  distinguish  an  habit- 
ual vagabond  thief  from  a  coiner  of  false  money  by  his 
having,  besides  the  organ  of  acquisitiveness,  the  organ  of 
locality  larger,  and  smaller  organs  of  cautiousness  and  of 
constructiveness.  We  may  also  distinguish  dangerous  and 
incorrigible  criminals  from  the  less  desperate  and  more  easily 
amended.  They  who  have  the  organs  of  the  sentiments 
proper  to  man  and  of  intellect  very  small,  but  those  of  the 
propensities  to  fight,  to  destroy,  to  conceal,  and  to  acquire, 
very  much  developed,  will  be  corrected  with  far  more  diffi- 
culty than  such  as  have  the  organ  of  acquisitiveness  very 
much  developed,  but  at  the  same  time  the  organs  of  the 
human  faculties  and  of  intellect  large,  who,  in  short,  are 
susceptible  of  moral  will. 


440 


PHRENOLOGY 


CHAPTER  II. 

On  the  difflcuUy  of  judging  others. 

Having  examined  the  modified  manifestations  of  the  facul- 
ties of  the  mind,  natural  order  leads  me  to  consider  the 
difficulty  of  judging,  and  of  determining  the  motives  and 
actions  of  others.  From  the  preceding  views  it  follows,  first, 
that  the  judgment  of  every  one  as  well  as  all  his  other  func- 
tions must  be  modified.  If  we  but  attend  to  the  judgments 
of  different  individuals  upon  the  same  object,  if  we  note  their 
reflections,  and  consider  what  each  praises  or  blames,  we  may 
speedily  be  convinced  by  experience  of  the  truth  of  this.  It 
may,  indeed,  be  admitted  as  a  principle,  that  every  one  judges 
according  to  the  natural  modifications  and  the  mutual  in- 
fluence of  his  faculties ; — that  all  judge  others  by  their  own 
nature,  or  take  themselves  as  the  measure  of  good  and  evil. 
Therefore  it  is  that  God  has  at  all  times  been  anthropomor- 
phosed;  every  one  has  modified  the  Divinity,  and  conceived 
a  Creator  conformable  to  his  own  manner  of  judging  and 
feeling.  And  when  philosophers,  moralists,  and  the  vir- 
tuous, regard  conscience  as  the  severest  judge  of  malefactors 
generally,  they  suppose  in  these  degenerate  beings  the  senti- 
ment they  feel  themselves; — they  judge  themselves  in  the 
actions  of  others.  In  the  same  way,  whatever  is  conformable 
to  our  manner  of  feeling  and  thinking  is  apt  to  be  approved, 
and  the  contrary  to  be  disapproved  of.  To  judge  well,  there- 
fore, we  must  first  distinguish  the  common  nature  of  man 
from  the  modifications  of  every  individual;  and  then  we 
must  know  our  own  nature  and  the  modifications  of  our 
faculties  to  avoid  censuring  or  lauding  others  according  to 
our  own  favorite  sentiments  or  ideas.  We  must,  in  fact, 
judge  others  and  ourselves  by  one  and  the  same  standard — 
absolute  good  and  evil. 

It  is  also  difficult  to  judge  of  the  actions  of  others,  and  to 
determine  their  real  motives,  because  the  motives  of  the  same 
action  may  be  quite  different.  Appearances  are  proverbially 
deceitful.    I  shall  quote  but  a  few  examples  in  illustration; 


PRACTICAL  CONSIDERATIONS 


441 


a  very  superficial  glance,  however,  will,  at  all  times,  show  us 
many  motives  for  the  same  act  done  by  different  individuals. 
One  gives  to  the  poor  from  ostentation,  another  from  duty, 
a  third  from  the  hope  of  gaining  heaven,  and  others  again 
from  real  charity.  One  wishes  to  know  the  history  and 
situation  of  the  unfortunate, — if  he  be  of  his  sect  or  party, 
&;c.,  before  he  does  good;  another  relieves  as  soon  as  he  sees 
misery,  every  one  is  his  neighbor,  his  left  hand  knows  not 
what  his  right  hand  does.  One  goes  to  church  because  it  is 
usual ;  another  to  see  or  to  be  seen ;  another  to  obtain  the  good 
opinion  of  the  pious;  and  another  from  feelings  of  sincere 
veneration.  One  is  neat  and  clean  only  when  he  goes  into 
society,  while  another  is  so  at  all  times,  even  in  solitude. 
One  cultivates  an  art  or  science  from  vanity ;  another  because 
he  is  charmed  with  it;  and  a  third  because  he  finds  it 
advantageous,  &c. 

It  is  the  same  with  the  abstaining  from  abuses.  One,  for 
instance,  from  charity  does  not  steal;  another  steals  every 
where  except  in  the  house  where  he  lives;  another  robs 
churches,  but  not  the  poor;  another  does  not  steal,  for  fear 
of  being  punished,  for  fear  of  injuring  his  reputation,  or 
from  a  sense  of  duty  and  justice,  &c.  In  short,  every  one 
knows  that  the  same  action  he  did,  or  abstained  from,  has 
not  always  followed  from  the  same  motive.  Thus,  if  an 
action  or  omission  is  to  be  judged,  it  is  necessary  to  consider 
whether  it  resulted  from  the  natural  energy  or  inactivity 
of  the  respective  faculty,  or  whether  other  faculties  exerted 
a  determinative  influence.  In  judging  others,  we  must 
remember  that  every  faculty  may  be  active  by  its  own  energy 
or  by  the  excitement  of  other  powers,  and,  again,  may  be 
inactive  by  its  own  insufficient  energy,  or  by  the  influence  of 
other  faculties.  Hence  it  follows,  that,  on  one  hand,  every 
function  does  not  suppose  large  developement  of  the  respec- 
tive organ ;  and,  on  the  other,  that  organs  may  be  greatly 
developed  without  producing  abuses.  The  organ  of  acquisi- 
tiveness may  be  very  large  without  causing  theft ;  the  organ 
of  amativeness  much  developed  without  occasioning  libertin- 
ism ;  and  so  of  the  rest.    The  functions  of  very  large  organs 


PHRENOLOGY 


may  be  suppressed,  though  certainly  not  without  difficulty. 
The  activity  of  every  organ  only  produces  a  particular  in- 
clination; the  faculties  mutually  influence  each  other,  and 
regulate  their  subordination.  Thus  we  cannot  judge  of  other 
persons  from  our  own  sentiments  and  intellectual  endow- 
ments, nor  by  one  or  several,  but  by  the  whole  of  their  facul- 
ties together;  and  then  only  censure  or  praise  their  actions 
as  they  disagree  or  harmonize  with  the  absolute  moral  nature 
of  man. 

The  principle  that  every  faculty  may  be  active  by  its  in- 
ternal energy,  answers  the  question  so  often  proposed  in 
books :  What  is  the  origin  of  the  arts  and  sciences  ?  In  ex- 
amining their  source,  writers  commonly  begin  from  remote 
antiquity,  and  endeavor  to  show  how  external  circumstances 
have  produced  and  improved  them.  Without  denying  the 
importance  of  external  circumstances  as  exciting  causes,  I 
still  think  that  the  most  important,  the  primary  cause,  in- 
deed, is  overlooked ;  that,  namely,  which  exists  in  the  connate 
organization;  the  same,  in  fact,  as  that  of  the  instinctive 
labors  of  animals.  Man  invents  and  cultivates  arts  and 
sciences  in  the  same  way  and  for  the  same  reason  that  the 
beaver  builds  its  hut,  and  the  nightingale  sings.  Every 
sentiment  and  every  intellectual  faculty  may  act  by  its  inter- 
nal activity  without  external  excitement;  and  this  is  the 
primitive  source  of  the  arts  and  sciences.  Scarcely  could 
Handel  speak,  before  he  articulated  musical  sounds,  and  his 
father,  grieved  at  the  child's  propensity  to  music,  banished 
all  musical  instruments  from  his  house;  but  this  sublime 
genius  was  not  to  be  extinguished  by  the  caprice  of  a  mistaken 
parent ;  for  the  boy  contrived  to  get  a  little  clavichord  into  a 
garret,  and  applying  himself  to  this  after  the  family  retired 
to  rest,  he  soon  learnt  to  produce  both  melody  and  harmony. 

l^ature,  then,  invented  arts  and  sciences,  and  revealed  them 
to  man  by  means  of  his  organization.  Arts  and  sciences  are 
also  gradually  perfected  only  in  proportion  as  they  who 
cultivate  them  are  possessed  of  energetic  organs. 


PRACTICAL  CONSIDERATIONS 


443 


Inferences. 

Tlie  consideration  of  the  two  sources  of  activity  of  the 
faculties  leads  me  to  the  following  question:  What  actions 
in  reference  to  morality  deserve  the  greatest  confidence,  those 
which  result  from  the  goodness  of  nature,  or  those  which  are 
the  effect  of  virtue?  Though  I  think  that  good  is  always 
good  in  itself,  and  must  ever  be  approved  of,  I  still  allow 
that  there  is  greater  merit  in  virtue  than  in  natural  goodness. 
I  agree  with  the  definition  of  virtue  which  all  the  great  ancient 
and  modern  philosophers  have  given,  as  Aristotle,  Plato, 
Cicero,  Seneca,  Kant,  and  others.  I  admit  that  those  who 
have  vanquished  temptations  deserve  particularly  to  he  re- 
warded, and  that  by  the  possibility  of  being  either  virtuous 
or  vicious,  our  actions  have  the  greatest  merit  or  demerit. 
^Nevertheless,  I  confess  that  for  my  own  part  and  guidance  in 
society,  I  trust  more  to  natural  goodness  than  to  virtue.  I 
love  goodness  and  esteem  virtue.  Guided  by  early  experi- 
ence, which  shows  that  the  greatest  number  of  persons  act 
more  from  the  dictates  of  their  propensities  and  sentiments 
than  of  their  understanding  and  moral  will,  I  never  choose 
for  my  intimate  friends  individuals  in  whom  the  inferior 
organs  are  very  large,  and  the  superior  very  small.  In  the 
same  way  I  think,  that  if  the  intellectual  faculties  act  by  their 
internal  energ}^,  they  effect  much  more  than  if  they  be  excited 
by  sentiments  or  motives  emanating  from  any  other  source. 

From  the  modifications  of  our  faculties  results  still  an- 
other very  important  practical  rule — indulgence.  It  is  im- 
possible that  others  should  feel  and  think  on  every  point  as 
we  do.  Precisely  as  it  is  generally  admitted,  that  the  func- 
tions of  the  external  senses  cannot  be  altogether  the  same, 
and  without  any  modification — and  as  it  is  proverbially  said, 
De  gustihus  non  est  disputandum,  so  also  are  the  internal 
faculties  modified,  and  no  one  has  a  right  to  desire  another 
to  feel  and  think  with  him.  A  certain  indulgence  is  indis- 
pensable in  society.  I  do  not  maintain  that  every  manner 
of  feeling  and  thinking,  and  every  action,  are  to  be  tolerated. 


444 


PHRENOLOGY 


There  is  a  common  touchstone  for  all  mankind.  Feelings, 
thoughts,  and  actions,  must  be  conformable  to  the  absolute 
conscience  of  man;  but  all  other  modifications  ought  to  be 
permitted.  This  principle  may  be  applied  to  both  sexes, 
and  to  all  conditions,  and  to  all  ages;  no  friendship  can  be 
permanent  without  indulgence  upon  many  modifications  in 
the  manner  of  feeling  and  thinking.  It  is  the  same  in  regard 
to  religious  and  other  opinions.  St.  Paul  said  to  the  Romans, 
'  One  believeth  that  he  may  eat  all  things ;  another,  who  is 
weak,  eateth  herbs ;  let  not  him  that  eateth  despise  him  that 
eateth  not,  and  let  not  him  that  eateth  not  judge  him  that 
eateth.  One  man  esteemeth  one  day  above  another,  another 
esteemeth  every  day  alike.  Let  every  man  be  fully  per- 
suaded in  his  own  mind.  We  then  that  are  strong  ought  to 
bear  the  infirmities  of  the  weak,  and  not  to  please  ourselves. 
The  kingdom  of  God  is  not  meat  nor  drink,  but  righteousness 
and  peace.' 


SECTION  VI. 

Explanation  of  different  Philosophical  Expressions. 

Nothing  is  more  vague  than  the  language  of  philosophy. 
Many  expressions  have  several  significations,  and  almost 
every  term  in  use  has  been  invented  to  designate  actions, 
and  not  the  faculties  which  produce  them.  To  make  this 
difference  felt  I  shall  collect  several  of  the  most  common 
words,  and  in  one  column  give  their  usual  signification,  in 
another  their  explanation  according  to  the  fundamental 
faculties,  referring  the  reader  to  the  passages  either  in  the 
physiological  or  in  the  philosophical  part  of  this  work,  in 
which  the  terms  as  they  occur  are  more  particularly 
explained. 


PHILOSOPHICAL  EXPRESSIONS 


445 


Common  Significations.  Explanation  according  to  the  Faculties. 

Absolute. 

Unconditional ;  not  relative.      ]^otliing  but  God  is  absolute. 

In  man  every  thing  is  rela- 
tive and  conditional. 

Admiration. 

A  tribute  paid  by  individuals    It  is  an  affection  of  the  sense 
to    whatever    appears    to        of  marvellousness. 
them  good  and  excellent. 

Adoration. 

The  external  homage  paid  to  The  effect  of  the  sense  of 
the  Divinity.  veneration. 

Affectation. 

A  singular  manner  of  speak-  It  results  from  the  love  of 
ing ;  the  making  an  exter-  approbation  when  not  com- 
nal  appearance  in  order  to  bined  with  understanding; 
attract  the  attention  of  it  increases  in  combination 
others.  with    secretiveness  and 

ideality. 

Affections. 

Certain  states  of  the  mind.        They  are  the  modes  of  being 

affected  of  the  fundamen- 
tal faculties.  See  Section 
II.  of  Part  II. 

Ambition. 

Great  desire  of  preferment    An  effect  of  great  activity 
and  distinction.  of  the  love  of  approbation 

applied  to  things  of  impor- 
tance.   See  p.  212. 

Anger. 

Uneasiness  upon  a  receipt  of  A.  violent  emotion  with  an  in- 
any  disagreeable  sensation.        clination  to  revenge. 


446 


PHRENOLOGY 


Common  Significations.  Explanation  according  to  the  Faculties. 


Apathy. 

The  quality  of  not  feeling;  Inactivity  of  every  funda- 
exemption  from  passion;  mental  faculty;  it  is  par- 
freedom  from  mental  ex-  tial,  or  more  or  less  gen- 
citation,  eral. 

Ardor. 

Heat,  or  eagerness  in  action.     Great  activity  of  every  fun- 
damental power. 

Art 

A  word  used  in  opposition  to     The  result  of  individual  pow- 
nature ;  something  effected        ers  of  the  mind, 
by  skill  and  dexterity. 

Attention. 

Application  of  the  mind  to  The  result  of  the  individual 
any  subject.  intellectual  faculties.  See 

p.  379. 

Attrition. 

Grief  of  sin  arising  from  the    A  disagreeable  affection  of 
fear  of  punishment.  the  sense  of  conscientious- 

ness caused  by  that  of  ven- 
eration, assisted  by  benevo- 
lence and  circumspection. 

Beautiful. 

Each  agreeable  sensation  by  It  designates  the  harmonious 
means  of  hearing  and  see-  relations  between  external 
ing.  impressions  and  the  intel- 

lectual faculties  of  the 
mind,  principally  the 
senses  of  extension,  con- 
figuration, coloring,  tone, 
and  order. 


PHILOSOPHICAL  EXPRESSIONS 


447 


Common  Significations.  Explanation  according  to  the  Faculties. 

Belief, 

Credit  given  to  something  Hope  disposes  to  belief ;  hope 
which  we  know  not  of  our-  and  marvellonsness  pro- 
selves,  duce  religious  belief. 

Benevolence. 

Disposition  to  do  good.  A  fundamental  faculty.  See 

p.  218. 

Charming. 

Pleasing  in  the  highest  de-     Springs  from  a  high  degree 
gree.  of   satisfaction   of  every 

fundamental  faculty. 

Compassion. 

Painful  sympathy.  A  disagreeable  affection,  or 

mode  of  action  of  benevo- 
lence. 

Confusion. 

Distraction  of  mind  and  in-  Defect  of  order  in  general, 
distinct  combination  of  discord  among  the  func- 
ideas.  tions. 

Conscience. 

The  faculty  by  which  we  A  mode  of  action  of  conscien- 
judge  of  good  and  evil.  tiousness. 

Constancy. 

Unalterable  continuance.  The  effect  of  firmness  assist- 

ed by  the  activity  of  tlie 
individual  faculties. 

Consternation. 

Astonishment     accompanied    An  affection  of  marvellous- 
with  terror.  ness    and  circumspection 

without  hope  and  courage. 


448  PHRENOLOGY 

Common  Significations.  Explanation  according  to  tlie  Faculties. 

Contem'pt. 

The  act  of  despising.  A  disagreeable  affection  of 

self-esteem,  produced  l)y 
various  causes. 

Contentment, 

Acquiescence  without  plen-    A  degree  of  satisfaction  of 
ary  satisfaction.  every    fundamental  fac- 

ulty. 


Sorrow  for  sin. 


Contrition, 


A  disagreeable  affection  of 
conscientiousness,  caused 
by  benevolence,  venera- 
tion, and  marvellousness. 


Active  fortitude. 


Courage, 

A  fundamental  power.  See 
p.  191. 


Cruelty, 

Delight  taken  in  the  pain  of    It  results  from  the  satisfac- 


others. 


t  i  o  n  of  destructiveness 
without  benevolence. 


Unlawful  longing. 


Cupidity, 

Great  activity  of  acquisitive- 


ness. 


Desire. 


Wish  to  enjoy. 


A  result  of  every  faculty  in 
action.    See  p.  391. 


PHILOSOPHICAL  EXPRESSIONS 


449 


Common  Significations.  Explanation  according  to  the  Faculties. 

Desolation, 

A  sort  of  mixture  of  melan-    A  disagreeable  affection  of 
choly  and  despair.  attachment,  and  of  benevo- 

lence, or  of  circumspection 
without  courage,  hope,  and 
firmness. 


Hopelessness. 


^Despair. 

A  disagreeable  affection  of 
circumspection  without 
hope. 


An  act  of  contempt. 


Despise. 


A  disagreeable  affection  of 
self-esteem. 


Want  of  confidence. 


Diffidence. 

The  effect  of  circumspection, 
combined  with  secretive- 
ness  and  intellect. 


A  sort  of  contempt. 


Disdain. 


A  disagreeable  affection  of 
self-esteem. 


Disorder. 

Irregularity,  neglect  of  rule.    Want  of  order  and  time; 

often  also  want  of  justice 
and  benevolence. 


Doubt 


Uncertainty  of  mind. 

29 


The  effect  of  circumspection, 
combined  with  intellect. 


450 


PHRENOLOGY 


Common  Significations.  Explanation  according  to  the  Faculties. 

Duty. 

That  to  which  a  man  is  by    The  effect  of  conscientious- 
any  natural  or  legal  obli-  ness. 
gation  bound. 

Ecstasy, 

Kapture  and  excessive  eleva-    The  faculties  of  marvellous- 
tion  of  the  mind.  ness,    ideality,  mirthful- 

ness,  and  hope,  dispose  to 
this  state  of  mind. 


Envy. 

Pain  felt  at  the  sight  of  ex-  The  effect  of  selfishness,  com- 
cellence  or  happiness  in  binedwith  various  inferior 
another.  powers,  and  without  benev- 

olence. 

Faitlh. 

Belief  in  the  revealed  truths  The  effect  of  marvellousness 
of  religion.  and  hope. 

Friendshi'p. 

The  state  of  minds  united  by  A  fundamental  feeling.  See 
mutual  benevolence.  p.  182. 

FrigM. 

A  strong  and  sudden  fear.         A  strong  and  sudden  affec- 
tion of  circumspection. 

Fury. 

A  violent  fit  of  anger.  An  affection  and  strong  irri- 

tation of  courage  and  de- 
structiveness. 


PHILOSOPHICAL  EXPRESSIONS 


451 


Common  Significations.  Explanation  according  to  the  Faculties. 

GeniiLS. 

A  man  endowed  with  mental     The  highest  degree  of  activ- 
powers  in  a  high  degree.  ity  of  the  individual  facul- 

ties. 

Grief. 

Sorrow  for  something  past.       A  state  of  dissatisfaction  of 

every  fundamental  fac- 
ulty. 

Happiness. 

State  of  satisfaction.  The  effect  of  the  satisfaction 

of  every  fundamental  fac- 
ulty. 

Hatred, 

lU-wilL  A  compound  affection,  it  re- 

sults from  opposition  to 
our  selfish  views,  whilst 
benevolence  and  justice 
are  inactive. 

Haughtiness. 

Pride,  arrogance.  The    effect    of  self-esteem, 

sometimes  combined  with 
firmness  and  justice. 

Honor. 

Reputation,  dignity.  Its  basis  is  the  love  of  appro- 

bation. It  is  often  modi- 
fied by  self-love  and  ven- 
eration. 

Hope. 

Expectation    of    something    A  fundamental  power.  See 
which  we  desire.  p.  240. 


452 


PHRENOLOGY 


Common  Significations.  Explanation  according  to  the  Faculties. 

Horror, 

Terror,  mixed  with  detesta-    A  disagreeable,  more  or  less 
tion.  compound,     affection  of 

benevolence,  veneration, 
justice,  circumspection,  ap- 
probation, and  configura- 
tion. 

Idea, 

Thought,  mental  image.  The  effect  of  each  intellec- 

tual faculty. 

Imagination, 

The  power  of  forming  ideas,  The  spontaneous  and  great 
and  of  representing  ideas  activity  of  every  faculty ; 
of  absent  things.  activity  of  ideality.  See 

p.  383. 

Impatience. 

Inability  to  suffer  delay.  Great  activity  of  every  fun- 

damental faculty. 

Impetuosity, 

Great  vivacity  in  action.  Great  and  quick  activity  of 

the  fundamental  faculties, 
principally  of  ideality, 
self-love,  courage,  of  the 
love  of  approbation  and  of 
mirthfulness,  without  cir- 
cumspection. 

Inattention. 

Want  of  attention.  Inactivity  of  every  intellec- 

tual faculty.    See  p.  379. 


PHILOSOPHICAL  EXPRESSIONS 


453 


Common  Significations.  Explanation  according  to  the  Faculties. 

Indifference. 

Unconcernedness.  Little  activity  of  every  fun- 

damental faculty. 

Indignation. 

Anger,   mingled   with   con-    A  compound  affection  of  self- 
tempt  or  disgust.  esteem,    justice,  courage, 

and  the  love  of  approba- 
tion. 

Indolence. 

Laziness,  carelessness.  Little  activity  of  the  funda- 

mental faculties. 

Insolence. 

Pride,  displayed  in  conterap-    The    effect   of   great  self- 
tuous  treatment  of  others.        esteem,  courage,  and  other 

inferior  feelings,  com- 
bined with  little  justice. 

Instinct. 

An  impulse  to  act  in  the  The  effect  of  spontaneous  ac- 
mind  not  determined  by  tivity  of  every  faculty, 
deliberation.  See  p.  372. 

J  ealousy. 

Suspicious  caution,  or  ri-  A  compound  affection  of 
valry.  every    fundamental  fac- 

ulty, particularly  of  the 
feelings. 

Joy. 

A  lively  and  agreeable  emo-    An    agreeable    affection  of 
tion  of  the  mind.  every  fundamental  faculty, 

particularly  of  the  feel- 
ings. 


454  PHRENOLOGY 

Common  Significations.  Explanation  according  to  the  Faculties. 

J  udgment. 

The  power  of  judging;  the    A  mode  of  action  of  the  in- 
determi nation  come  to.  tellectual  faculties.    See  p. 

384. 

Knowledge. 

Cognizance,  clear  perception.     The  effect  of  the  activity  of 

every  intellectual  faculty. 

Love  {physical.) 

The    passion    between    the    A  fundamental  power.  See 
sexes.  p.  171. 

Lukewarm. 

Indifferent,  not  ardent.  Little  activity  of  the  funda- 

mental faculties. 

Melancholy. 

A  gloomy  temper.  A  disagreeable  affection  of 

the  feelings,  particularly 
of  circumspection. 

Memory. 

The   power   of   recollecting    An  internal  repetition  of  its 
things  past.  function  by  every  intellec- 

tual faculty.    See  p.  381. 

Moderation. 

Forbearance ;  not  going  to    A  moderate  activity  of  every 
extremities.  faculty. 

Modesty. 

Decency,  purity  of  manners.     Little  activity  of  self-esteem 

with  benevolence,  circum- 
spection, and  justice. 


PHILOSOPHICAL  EXPRESSIONS 


455 


Common  Significations.  Explanation  according  to  the  Faculties. 

Morality. 

Practice  of  the  duties  of  life.     The  effect  of  the  faculties 

proper  to  man,  particu- 
larly of  conscientiousness. 


Negligence. 

The  habit  of  omitting,  or  of    Little  activity  of  the  individ- 
acting  carelessly.  ual  faculties,  particularly 

of  order,  of  the  desire  to 
acquire,  &c. 


Nobility. 

Persons  of  high  rank.  True  nobility  results  from 

activity  of  the  superior 
sentiments. 

Pain. 

A  disagreeable  sensation.         A  disagreeable  affection  of 

every  fundamental  fac- 
ulty. 


Passion. 

Violent  emotion  of  the  mind.     The  highest  degree  of  activ- 


ity of  every  faculty, 
p.  396. 


See 


Patience. 

The  power  of  expecting  long, 
or  of  suffering  without  dis- 
content. 


Moderate  activity  of  the  fac- 
ulties, supported  by  cir- 
cumspection, firmness,  and 
sometimes  by  benevolence ; 
also,  the  activity  of  indi- 
vidual faculties,  assisted 
by  firmness. 


456 


PHRENOLOGY 


Common  Significations.  Explanation  according  to  the  Faculties. 

Perplexity, 

Distraction  and  irresolution    A    compound    affection  of 
of  mind.  circumspection,  combined 

with  the  love  of  approba- 
tion and  justice,  increased 
by  little  courage. 

Pleasure, 

Gratification  of  the  mind.        An    agreeable    affection  of 

every  faculty. 

Pretension. 

Claim,  true  or  false.  Great  activity  of  self-esteem, 

increased  by  the  love  of 
approbation. 

Rage. 

Violent  anger.  Great  activity  of  courage  and 

destructiveness. 

Ravishment. 

Violent  but  pleasing  excite-    A  high  degree  of  pleasure 
ment  of  the  mind.  produced  by  the  satisfac- 

tion of  every  faculty  very 
active. 

Regret, 

Vexation  for  something  past.     A  disagreeable  affection  of 

every  faculty  combined 
with  the  remembrance  of 
some  enjoyment  lost. 

Reminiscence. 

HecoUection.  The  peculiar  memory  of  the 

power  of  knowing  facts 
{Eventuality.   See  p.  382. 


PHILOSOPHICAL  EXPRESSIONS  457 
Common  Significations.  Explanation  according  to  the  Faculties. 

Remorse;  or,  Bepentance. 
Pain  of  guilt.  A  disagreeable  affection  of 

conscientiousness. 

Science. 

Knowledge   built   on   prin-    It  is  the  effect  of  the  reflec- 
ciples.  tive  applied  to  the  percep- 

tive  faculties. 

Self-esteem. 

A  fundamental  power.  See 
p.  214. 

Sensation. 

Perception  bj  means  of  the    The  knowledge  of  every  im- 
senses.  pression  either  external  or 

internal.    See  p.  376. 

Shame. 

The  passion  felt  when  repu-  A  disagreeable  affection  of 
tation  is  supposed  to  be  the  love  of  approbation, 
lost,  or  when  a  bad  action  combined  with  justice  and 
is  detected.  circumspection. 

Sorrowful. 

Mournful ;  grieving.  A  disagreeable  affection  of 

every  faculty. 

Spite. 

Malice,  rancor.  A  disagreeable  affection  of 

self-esteem  and  courage. 

Stupor. 

Great  diminution,  or  suspen-  A  great  degree  of  inactivity 
sion  of  sensibility.  of  the  faculties. 


458 


PHRENOLOGY 


Common  Significations.  Explanation  according  to  tlie  Faculties. 

Sublime. 

Exalted,  high  in  excellence.  The  effect  of  ideality,  com- 
bined with  the  superior 
sentiments,  and  intellec- 
tual faculties. 

Temperance. 

Moderation  and  sedateness.       A  moderate  activity  of  the 

inferior  feelings. 

Temptation, 

The  act  of  tempting,  and  the    The  effect  of  every  active 
state  of  being  tempted.  faculty  which  incites  to 

action. 

Tranquil. 

Quiet.  The  effect  of  little  activity. 

Uneasiness. 

State  of  disquiet.  The  effect  of  great  activity 

of  every  faculty. 

Unhappiness. 

Distress.  The  state  of  dissatisfaction 

of  every  active  faculty. 

Unreasonable. 

Want  of  reason.  Inactivity  of  the  reflecting 

faculties. 

Vengeance. 

The  desire  and  act  of  render-     Self-esteem  being  offended, 
ing  evil  for  evil.  combined  with  courage,  de- 

structiveness,  and  other 
inferior  sentiments,  whilst 
benevolence  and  justice  are 
inactive,  incites  to  revenge. 


PHILOSOPHICAL  EXPRESSIONS 


459 


Common  Significations.  Explanat 

Virtue. 


Moral  goodness,  that  which 
gives  excellence. 


:ion  according  to  the  Faculties. 

Every  action  conformable  to 
natural  morality;  the  re- 
sult of  the  contest  between 
the  two  natures  of  man. 


Want. 

The  state  of  not  having;  de-    Want,  in  the  sense  of  desire, 
sire.  is  the  effect  of  every  active 

faculty. 


Will 

A  faculty  of  the  mind,  and  Decision  according  to  mcv- 
the  determination  which  tives  which  are  proper  to 
results  from  it.  man,  and  enlightened  by 

the  reflecting  faculties. — 
See  p.  391. 


Wisdbm. 

The     power     of     judging    The  regulation  of  every  ac- 
rightly.  tion,  by  the  rule  of  natural 

morality. 

Conclusion. 

The  object  of  anthropology  in  its  extensive  signification 
is  immense,  extremely  difficult,  but  important  and  interesting 
in  the  same  proportion.  It  will  still  require  much  exertion 
to  be  rendered  perfect.  I  shall  be  happy  if  I  succeed  in  call- 
ing the  attention  of  others  to  the  study  of  man,  and  particu- 
larly to  the  consideration  of  his  moral  nature,  which  is  essen- 
tial to  general  happiness,  and  which,  I  think,  has  been  too 
much  neglected  in  modern  times.    I  conclude  in  hopes  that 

1  the  things  prescribed  by  Providence,  and  the  victorious  forces 

\  of  truth  will  finally  prevail. 


